Family Matters
by Discretion Assured
Summary: Lyra and Lemy Loud are sent by their rockstar mother to spend a few weeks in Michigan with their Uncle Lincoln. What should be a few weeks of fun is instead turned into something far different when a terrible secret is discovered. Various Loudcest pairings as a background plot element.
1. Chapter 1

Well, this is topical. Sorta. I've been working on this since the ball dropped on New Years and it happens to be ready when the sin kids (or abominations. Whatever name floats your boat) are starting to make more appearances in the category. They're as fascinating as the concept behind them is fucked up.

But they're interesting as characters and there's a lot of story potential in them. It's a new way to look at the original loudcest pairings, anyway. That's why I wrote this; the whole "Happy ever after" thing strikes me as stupid anyway.

 **Onto the Story**

Even in the middle of summer, southern Michigan was still chilly, and even more so at 2 in the morning. The Royal Woods bus terminal was one of the only places still open and busy. Buses were either pulling in or leaving, and crowds of people were moving between them, the bus terminal, or the parking lot.

Among the throng of people leaving for the parking lot were two brunette youths- a girl and a boy. The girl was the taller one, with soft long hair that trailed down past her shoulders. She was dressed in a simple long purple skirt and button up jacket. A piece of jewelry hung out in front of it- a silver necklace with a large depiction of the Protestant cross. She carried two duffel bags in her left hand, and the right was firmly holding on to the boy next to her.

He was at least a foot shorter, although his abnormally short and poofy hair, with a purple bandanna wrapped around it, seemed to add an inch or two. He was wearing blue jeans and short sleeve black shirt with the logo of a band on the front of it. He'd forgone any kind of coat, and the only other thing he was wearing was a vest that had clearly been made out of a jean jacket. He was carrying a guitar case in his free hand.

As the two walked, they passed a poster advertising a show in the coming months. Royal Wood's very own Luna Loud would be coming for a show in her hometown. The famous rocker, anglophile, and party animal would always return every few years and do a free show for the city that had given her her start. Everyone viewed as humble for it, remembering her roots even though she traveled both the states and Europe to play at whatever venture would take her, big or small. Her love of the lifestyle was well known.

What wasn't as widely known was that she was the mother of two children- a daughter and son named Lyra and Lemy. Sure, journalists caught a whiff or them every now and then, but most of the attention was always on their mother. No one really expected her to have children when, in the entirety of her decade career as a megastar, she hadn't had a single boyfriend or relationship.

But she had to have someone at home. Who else was going to put her to bed when she stumbled in and passed out on the floor? Or help her get over a hangover?

But rather then sitting in a hotel or motel room waiting for their mother, both of them were instead standing on the edge of a parking lot in Michigan while she was all the way in California. The reason they were here: Family. They'd been sent to stay with a relative- their uncle Lincoln.

It was far from the first time they'd stayed with family; their mother had sent them here to stay with her plethora of sisters- their aunts- and their children- Lyra and Lemy's cousins- numerous times over the last couple of years, just never their uncle. Sometimes it was just because of a demanding tour. Sometimes it was because of a trial or scandal. Other times, through the haze of rock n' roll and partying, their mother would realize how her kids were frustrated with the constant traveling, dodgy lodging, and lack of contact with people their own age. Whatever the reason, she'd shell out for them to travel up north and stay for a few weeks with family.

Amazingly, their mother managed to function without the help during these separations.

Their aunt Lori was the most senior of their aunts, and the only one not living in Michigan- she lived in a wealthy suburb near Chicago. They'd been sent to stay with her more often than any of their other aunts. A very respectable woman on the outside- married to a good husband and holding a job as a high-level manger in the city. Although judging by the wine bottles Lyra had noticed around the house, she liked to indulge in the demon drink.

She was always at work though and didn't seem to have time for, or an interest really, in her niece and nephew. Her husband Bobby was a very kind and conversational man when he was there though. Most of their days there, assuming it wasn't a school year (the two of them were homeschooled, something constantly moving across state lines mandated) were spent with their cousin Loan. She was 15 like Lyra, although a few months younger, and nearly a spitting image of her mother. She was a very shy girl though, wanting to stay inside with her cousins rather than go outside. Over three visits in the last two years, Lyra had noticed her develop a small twitch. She's mentioned it to her parents on the last visit, but only her father seemed to be concerned about it.

Lori was the only respectable one though. The rest they'd stayed with were like their mother- loose women who'd opened their legs when they were young and were now single mothers. They were decent women in their own right, but they still were what they were.

They're only stayed with their aunt Leni once. She was a famous fashion designer and spent a lot of time traveling. They'd gotten a chance to stay with her when one of their mother's European tours happened to match up with her being in Europe for a month-long fashion event across different countries. She was a very sweet and happy woman. Very generous, too; Lyra had spent much of that stay making sure Lemy didn't spoil himself on candy. She was a bit…well, Lyra wasn't sure if she could say it in a polite way, but she wasn't very capable- except for fashion; the abundance of handmade clothes the two had returned with was a testament to that. She had a team of assistants to drive her around and make sure she was always where she needed to be. Still, she was so kind Lyra couldn't help but favor her and not judge her for her situation.

Her daughter Liena has just as kind, if not more so. The oldest of their cousins, she almost completely took after her mother in appearance and personality, although at only 16 she was just as tall as her mother and a little bulkier. Even if they'd only stayed with both of them once, Lyra would honestly say it was one of the best visits they'd ever done. Lemy tended to keep quiet on what he thought, but it had clear he enjoyed it too.

Those were the only two aunts of theirs, or least that they visited, who didn't live in Michigan. The rest did.

Their aunt Luan was always an experience to stay with. The woman made a modest living as a in person and online comedian, and she was always telling jokes. Actually, she seemed to talk more than she stayed silent. But she absolutely loved pranking. And since her own daughter Liby was aware of all her material, her best targets were her much more naïve niece and nephew. Visiting her house was like walking through a minefield- there could be a airhorn behind every door, a whoopee cushion in any chair, super glue on any surface. Liby was much quieter and milder than her mother, but even she'd pull a prank or two at their expense. But she had to admit there were times they laughed while they were there, and none of the pranks went too far. Their aunt and cousin enjoyed having the two over, and they always managed to leave kind of wishing they could stay.

Their aunt Lynn was a similar case. Had Lyra ever met a woman who so embodied the sin of pride so much? No, and she probably wouldn't either. She was _very_ enthusiastic about sports and fitness, as would be expected of a school gym teacher and sports coach, but she took it a little too far. She was very active in general; a morning at her house started before the sun rose. Always trying to get Lemy and her involved sports or to join her in her exercise routines.

Her daughter Lacy was like a miniature version of her. Actually, both of them were pretty short; Lyra had been as tall as her aunt the last time they visited, and she was probably taller now. So the raw strength and energy they always had was surprising, and eventually always started to annoy. But it really was cute in Lyra's opinion to sit back and watch the back and forth antics between mother and daughter. And when their own mother had often been too busy to do things with them, it was nice to have someone trying to. Lemy had even shown a brief interest in sports, at least before his smaller but older and far stronger cousin had given him a seething hatred for them.

The only other aunt they had stayed with was their aunt Lucy, a very peculiar woman who Lyra admittedly wasn't too fond of. She had black hair, unlike the blond and brunette of most the family and was a stay at home writer. She was even more distant to them then Lori. She didn't say much at all really. She was kind of like Lyra in a way- they kept their nose in books. Although the subject of hers was more… morbid. She was not, as Lyra had feared for a time, satanic. She just had an interest in the macabre, which wasn't much better.

Lemy didn't seem to be that bothered by her though, probably because her daughter Lupa was the only one of their cousins he got reasonably along with. It didn't seem to be the fact they were the same age as much as it was that they both liked to complain about things. How a 9-year-old learned to be so cynical, she didn't know. Bad parenting, she assumed. Lupa had white hair, something Lyra had been told popped up in their family tree about once a generation, and was more talkative then her mother, but only to make more snide remarks. The two did not get along.

They had other aunts they'd never stayed with but that their mom talked about and Lyra had actually met when she was little- Lola and Lana, twins. Luna apparently wasn't in contact with them like her other sisters and wasn't sure where or what they were doing. Lisa, a world-renown scientist both Lyra and Lemy had seen on the news. Apparently she'd cut herself off from the rest of her family, something Lyra found both understandable and heartless. And lastly, the youngest of her aunts, Lily. She actually would've still been a teenager like her nieces, living at home with her parents.

Her parents; Luna's parents; their grandparents.

Lyra had stayed with them once -or maybe she had many times before and just couldn't remember- when she was only five. Or rather, her mother had gone to stay with her parents for a while and took Lyra with her. She remembered that time vividly though. Her uncle, aunt Lucy, and all four aunts she hadn't met had still been youths living there. She couldn't really remember what her grandparents looked like, but she remembered they had been very kind people running a loving home.

Very good people. She felt sorry for them having to go through realizing most the daughters they'd raised so caringly ended up as whores.

She'd never been sent to stay with them again though. Lemy had never even met them. Actually, her mother had kept both of them (Lemy had been born soon after that) close by her side for the next couple of years, always on the road. Whenever Lyra had brought up staying with them, her mother had deflected the question or just told her they couldn't take them right now, so she'd eventually stopped asking.

Maybe they'd had a falling out.

But now, for the first time, they were going to stay with their uncle. No idea why their mother had decided this only now. Lyra didn't know a whole lot about him except that he wasn't married. Their cousins had apparently visited him a few times, but they didn't say much. Her mother had mentioned that when her and her siblings were all children, he was always a peacekeeper. Very selfless.

Lyra's mother had even insisted to her that they use to be close. _"Totally. When you were a baby he used to help me all the time."_ Her mother had only been 16 when she had her, so of course she still lived at home with most of her siblings. _"He changed you diapers and fed you. One of the first words you learned to say was his name."_

So he wasn't exactly a stranger, at least to her. But she'd still hold her judgement till she met him. For that though, they'd first actually have to find him. He was a distinct man though- he had white hair, after all. Her eyes swept across the parking lot while Lemy stayed slumped on the bench.

There were plenty of cars parked, but only a few people moving around. She was looking for anyone who looked like they were waiting for someone.

Her eyes settled on a man in jeans and a jacket sitting on the trunk of an old sedan a few rows into the lot. The yellow glow from one of the light poles was reflecting noticeably off his hair. His white hair.

"Come on." She went back and grabbed Lemy's hand.

"You find him already?"

"I think so." She'd been a bit annoyed her mother hadn't even given her a picture to help. Then again, how many people had white hair?

"Excuse me?" Lyra spoke up. The man looked up and jumped up even before she spoke again. "Are you Lincoln Loud?"

"Lyra and Lemy?" He guessed. His voice was kind of high and scratchy like he didn't use it much. Not as bombastic as their mother or some of their aunts, but not deadpan or flat. When Lyra nodded, he tried to say something else but tripped over his words.

While he stuttered out a greeting, Lyra observed his face and the dark lines under his eyes. He was still in his 20s, but he did look older. Lori's husband had the same effect about from hard work. But so did their mother from her party lifestyle.

"It's…great to meet you guys." He finally managed.

"We're happy to meet you too." Lyra returned. Beside her, Lemy rudely yawned.

"You guys must be tired." Their uncle realized. "I'll take those for you." He motioned to their bags. They handed them off and watched as he put them in the trunk.

"He seems nice." Lyra commented.

"I guess." Lemy shrugged.

"Either of you hungry?" He asked as he climbed into the driver seat. Lyra climbed the front passenger seat and Lemy the back. "There are some places that are open all night." He offered.

"I'm fine, thank you." Lyra declined. She was more looking forward to bed then food. She glanced back at Lemy, who just gave a small jerk of his head no. She responded with a jerk of her head to the seatbelt he hadn't put on yet. He glared back at her but obeyed.

"So…" Their uncle tried to make conversation as they drove out of the parking lot and started heading further into the city. "How's you mother?" He asked.

"She's fine." Lyra responded. "She just got a contract for another major tour." They suspected that was part of the reason she'd had them come visit family.

"That's great." Her uncle nodded. "She still with Sam?"

"She's in rehab."

"Oh." He trailed off awkwardly. Lyra decided to save the conversation by asking him what he did for a living.

"I draw comics." He said. "Mostly for websites though." He gave a small, remorseful laugh. "People don't buy regular comics that much anymore." He admitted. Lyra nodded. It sounded like a decent profession.

"You know, some of your cousins come and visit me sometimes." Their uncle told them. "So you might get a chance to see them."

"Hopefully." Lyra nodded.

"That's a nice necklace." Her uncle had noticed the streetlights reflecting off of it. "You're religious?" He asked.

"Protestant." Lyra answered. She'd been religious for several years now. It all dated back to when she was nine. During a show in Memphis, they were staying in a hotel. She'd happened upon the bible in the bedside table and, with nothing else to do, decided to read it. She hadn't understood everything that it said, or even finished it, but she'd found it interesting. Scary, but interesting. From then on, she'd check whenever they stayed in another hotel. There wasn't a bible in every one and some of them were different, but she'd still read them. By happenstance, she encountered and talked with a traveling pastor at another hotel just a few months later and she was devout from that day on.

Sadly, no one seemed to find this interesting. _"Nonsense, love. Let blokes have their fun."_ Her mother had said when Lyra tried to warn her about what her partying and debauchery would lead to. None of her aunts and cousins had shown any interest either. Well, her aunt Lori had smiled and patted her on the head and told her to be sure to share what she learned with her mother, but there seemed to be sarcasm in her words. Luan had broken out a few blasphemous jokes and Lupa had outright mocked her. Lemy hated it just by the fact she wanted him to read another book on top of all the school ones they had to read.

Her mother must've noticed, though, because the necklace was a gift for her 12th birthday.

"Ah." Her uncle acknowledged. "I think our family's religious. Catholic…I think. You'd have to ask your mom though; I think our parents use to take them to church before there were too many of us."

"Hmm." Lyra acknowledged. If they were, clearly most of them hadn't taken any of the message to heart.

"You play guitar?" Lincoln addressed the next question to Lemy, who hadn't said anything yet.

"No, I just carry the case around for fun." He snarked back. Their uncle twitched at the comeback and Lyra turned around in her seat to fix her little brother with a stare. Lemy squirmed and uncrossed his arms. "Yeah, I play." He admitted. The guitar was one of their mother's old ones she'd passed down. Lyra hadn't failed to notice that his dedication to the instrument only seemed to apply when their mother was around. Lemy was content to just watch tv till their mom came in, at which point he'd pick up the instrument and strum out a few notes. She wasn't an expert, but her mother had said his playing was "pretty rad". He'd been practicing more and more recently without their mother present.

"He's just tired." Lyra tried to excuse his behavior.

"Your mother used to shake the house with her playing." Lincoln chose to ignore the snark and reminisced. "Even after we soundproofed her room, the neighbors would complain about the noise." His smile faded slightly. "Sorry, you might not have many chances to play. My neighbors might complain."

"I'm used to it." Lemy shrugged. Enough angry hotel managers hammering on their door because of one of their mothers impromptu practice session had taught him the better part of discretion.

The rest of the ride passed in silence. Lemy was so tired he fell asleep and Lyra chose not to distract her tired uncle who'd occasionally take a hand off the steering wheel to rub his eyes. A half hour after leaving the bus terminal, they finally pulled into a parking space on a street lined with several apartments.

"Mine's over there." Lincoln pointed to the third building ahead of them. He offered to carry their bags while she got Lemy. She carefully picked him up from the back seat and followed her uncle down the side walk and into one of the buildings. His was on the second floor.

Following him through the door, it opened into a small hallway that went left and right with a living room directly in front. Her uncle pointed down the left hallway. "Kitchen is to the right. Bedroom is down there. I'll sleep in the living room while you guys are here." Lyra headed down the hall, careful to keep from bumping Lemy's head against the wall.

"There's only one bed, but I got a sleeping bag one of you can use." Her uncle offered as he set their bags down in the doorway.

"It's fine." She assured him, glancing around the room as she entered. Nothing out of place- just a bed, closet, and dresser. She set Lemy down on the left side of the bed, making sure to do so carefully while Lincoln went to go get the guitar case he'd left the first time. Her little brother in bed and her uncle outside, Lyra took the chance to walk around the small apartment to make observations.

It was reasonably clean. There wasn't any tobacco or alcohol anywhere she could see. Most of the space in the living room was taken up by a computer and large desk against the far wall covered with paper, files, and drawing utensils. From what she could tell, it looked like the house a modest and hard-working person. No red flags.

The front door opened again as Lincoln came back with Lemy's guitar. Lyra followed him as he set it in the bedroom. He paused, seemingly exhausted from the work.

"Thank you." Lyra nodded.

"No-" He paused to yawn. "No problem." It was late. As interested as both parties were in getting to know each other, it was something best left for the morning. They bid each other goodnight.

Unlike Lemy, she wasn't content to sleeping in her regular clothes. She retrieved a pair of pajamas from her luggage and headed for the bathroom, passing her uncle carrying a blanket retrieved from a closet to the living room. When she emerged, the living room light was already shut off. She returned to the bedroom and stored her clothes and necklace.

But there was still one last thing to do before she went to sleep. She knelt beside the bed and, like every night before, said a nightly prayer. She thanked God for looking after her and asked him to do so again. She asked him to look after her mother, too. Whatever her qualms with her, she was still her mother and Lyra respected her on that fact. There had been a time she'd carried both her children on her hip. And even if she was more distant to them now that they were more independently capable, it was still obvious in her actions that she cared about them and paid attention to what they did.

"And my father, wherever he may be." That was something she'd only added in the last few years. She wasn't sure why she kept in her thoughts a man she'd never met, a man who'd abandoned both her and her mother. It was a subject Lyra hadn't breached with her mother for the longest time, assuming it was the norm. Even after she'd gotten curious, she'd held off because she assumed even her mother didn't know- that it just happened as part of her lifestyle. But eventually, Lyra had asked.

The answer had been about what she expected- her mother had no idea who Lyra's father was. But she'd seemed ashamed to admit it. For a woman who lived so loosely, it was an unusual show of humility. Lyra hadn't pushed the matter further or brought it up again. Be he a good man or bad, the Lord would watch over him and onto him a deserved fate.

"Lemy's father too." That man was just as much an enigma. The most she could say she knew was that he lived in Michigan- Looking back her mom had gotten pregnant with Lemy during the time Lyra stayed with her grandparents, or so she was fairly certain. Probably an old friend she'd "hooked up" with while she was in her hometown. As far as Lemy knew though, they had the same father, but only because he was thankfully naïve in such matters.

She glanced up at the sleeping boy. When you spent so much time traveling without a single home, you got particularly attached to the things that were consistent. She appreciated that it was family. Sure, her mother was scarce most the time and Lemy liked to act out just because. But she still loved them. She didn't mind being a caretaker to her mother and a surrogate mother to her brother. You had to look for the little things that gave happiness.

She climbed into bed and pulled the covers up over both of them. "Goodnight, Lemy." She said. Her baby brother was still fast asleep, and after a few minutes she too was lost to dreams.


	2. Chapter 2

Waking early was one of the habits Lyra had developed as part of the life on the road. Or she'd had to develop because of her mother. She didn't differentiate the two.

But her mother would always be up late either playing or partying and then come back to whatever lodging they had well after her children fell asleep. Getting up early was her means to make sure her mother was okay and that Lemy didn't see anything he didn't have to. The state she came home in sometimes…

There were actually many nights, sometimes even entire weeks and months, she'd be perfectly fine and the next morning her children would find her in bed without incident. Other times, though, Lyra would wake up and her mother would be randomly sleeping somewhere in the vicinity- on the floor, on a table, on the toilet- sometimes she'd actually give her daughter a fright and end up climbing into bed with them. And more than once she'd found her mother passed out against the door right outside the room, too intoxicated to actually open it. Articles of clothing tended to disappear from the time she left to when her daughter found her the next morning. Coming back with vomit or something on her shirt was a usual occurrence as well.

And like a good daughter, Lyra would make her decent and put her somewhere she could more comfortably sleep off whatever had happened and have coffee, water, aspirin, or whatever else was necessary when she woke up. It was routine, just like asking her every time this happened if she was looking forward to the fire and brimstone of Hell while she was still disoriented.

So, despite their late arrival last night, she was still up at 9 o' clock, before either her brother or uncle. They were still asleep when she finished her morning ritual and dressed herself in a button up shirt and another long skirt. She was hungry, but she believed it rude to just pillage her uncle's kitchen without permission. So, she passed the time with re-reading her copy of the Bible she carried around- the King James Version.

Eventually, she did hear stirring from the living room. She walked in to find her uncle sitting up on the couch rubbing the sleep from his eyes. When she bid him a good morning, he made a startled sound and fell down.

"Good morning!" He quickly got back up. She supposed he was used to living alone and just didn't expect her. He glanced at the clock on the wall and looked surprised to see it was already past 10. "I should go make breakfast." He thought out loud.

"Would you like any help?" She offered as he passed her on his way to the kitchen.

"Sure." The kitchen was as basic as the rest of the apartment- a fridge, counter, cupboards, and a sink against one side and a table with three chairs on the other side. "You mom sent some money ahead so I went ahead and stocked up." Her uncle mentioned as he pulled stuff from the cupboards. Lyra responded with a barely audible "mhm". Asking someone about their finances was rude, but she always suspected her mother did as much. Not many single mothers would so readily accept two extra mouths to feed, or even well-off ones. He was just the first one to admit it. "I still got some left, so just let me know if either of you need anything."

"Thank you." Lyra nodded. She noticed he'd gathered some pancake mix and offered to start while he went to at least change into a pair of clean clothes. She didn't have much experience cooking; it was unnecessary when traveling so much. But some of her aunts had taught her, aunt Leni and her daughter more than any other. Not that there was anything difficult about following printed instructions on a box.

While she was mixing the batter, she heard movement behind her that stopped. After a moment she sensed a presence behind her and glanced back to see her uncle, now in jeans and polo shirt, watching her from the doorway. He jumped a little when she turned.

"Sorry." He said when he realized he was caught. "I was just thinking how much you look like your mother."

"Hmm." She responded neutrally. She'd seen pictures of her mother when she was her age- all her aunts seem to own the same copy of a picture they'd taken together during that time. Even though her aunts and now her uncle claimed it, she personally didn't see the resemblance. Her mother's stylistic choices hadn't changed in 15 years- short hair, short skirts, and just rough appearance in general. Lyra's modesty and femininity was the exact opposite. Yet everyone kept saying how similar they looked. The comparison secretly annoyed her.

They worked in silence for a few moments, pouring the batter onto pan. Unlike his sisters though, her uncle seemed to pick up that she didn't like the comparison. "You're a lot different than her though." He added as an afterthought while he flipped some of the pancakes. "Not that that's a bad thing- when we were kids all of us had different interests. Caused a lot of arguments, but it had it made things fun too." Lyra smiled at that while she flipped the other pancakes.

"Last night you uh…" Her uncle seemed hesitant about what he said next. "You said Sam was in rehab?"

"Yes." Lyra confirmed. She didn't really keep up with her mother's work, but she heard in passing that her band changed members often. Sam was the only consistent member of the band for the last few years, although the blond woman would take breaks too. She'd been friends with their mother when they were still teenagers.

Aunt Lori and Leni had asked about her too. Both of them also seemed to be under the impression the two were together. Sam would bring her mother home some nights and even stay overnight, and it did seem at times like her mother was pining after that- one more sin atop of many. But as far as Lyra could tell the other woman didn't return the affection. Actually, she was pretty sure she'd mentioned a boyfriend at one point. Overall, she didn't interact with either Lemy or her.

"What happened?" He asked. Lyra just shrugged and said she didn't know. Lincoln nodded somberly. The pancakes were nearly done by then. "Why don't you go wake your brother up and I'll finish here?" He offered. Lyra took him up on it.

Lemy was sprawled out along the width of the bed using his arm as a pillow. He groaned when his sister started shaking his shoulder and tried to swat her arm away. "It's time for breakfast." Lyra told him. He stirred and raised his head to yawn. He opened his eyes and blinked before looking around in confusion before remembering where they were. "The bathroom's across the hall and the kitchen is down it. Get dressed and come eat." She stood there and waited for him to get out of bed and stand up before she went back to the kitchen.

Her uncle had already set up three plates with pancakes on them. Three glasses and a jug of orange juice sat in the middle of the table. "He'll be here soon." Lyra informed him as she took a seat. Sure enough, her brother walked into the kitchen a minute later, barefoot and wearing a different pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt. He always wore the vest and bandanna around his hair though. Lyra used to have to take them while he slept just to wash them. His eyes lit up as he spotted the pancakes and jumped into his seat.

"So, what do you guys usually do when you visit your aunts?" Their uncle asked.

"Not a lot." Lyra answered, eating at a slower pace while her brother stuffed his face. "Most of them work during the day." The exception were Luan and Lucy- both worked from home and the former usually worked evenings. "We usually stay home." It could be boring, but not as much as staying in a hotel room for hours on end.

"You got cable?" Lemy asked through a mouth full of food.

"Yeah, and some video games." At his uncle's words, Lemy immediately became more interested. Those were the only hobby he had when you ignored the guitar playing he only did to impress their mother. At some of the better hotels they'd stay at, he'd spend hours in the arcades. Some places had a game console you could rent for your stay, and their mother would usually buy it for him; it's not like money was an issue. It was pretty mindless in Lyra's opinion, but it was one of the few things that would get them out of a hotel room for a little while.

"What kind?" He asked.

"Fighting games mostly. A few shooters. They're under the tv. You can go see if there's any you like." Lincoln explained. Lemy made as if to get up before Lyra fixed him in place with a glare that said "after you finish eating" and he sat back down.

"There anything else you guys like to do?" Their uncle asked. "Places you like to go?" The siblings shared a glance and it turned into an awkward silence. They really didn't get out much. During their stay with Leni, she'd taken them out to about a dozen different shops. Aunt Luan had offered to take Lyra to some of her shows, but it wasn't of interest to her. Lynn had always dragged them to a nearby park, but that was more for the benefit of her and her daughter. She didn't drag them as much as they both ran there while occasionally doubling back to run a lap about both siblings.

But other than that, the two really didn't get out much. Lemy was content to spend all his time in front of a tv, and Lyra always had her bible to re-read. Or they just spent time with their cousins, which was mostly inside as well.

"Just saying you guys can go out and do something if you want." Their uncle explained awkwardly. They hadn't gotten that offer before. Their aunts never explicitly forbid them from doing so, but they never told them to either. Even though they'd come to visit this city several times, they didn't actually know it that well. Lyra explained as much.

"Oh." He seemed surprised. "Well…I can show you guys sometime." He offered. "I have to work the next few days, but there's a lot to do around here."

"That sounds interesting." Lyra offered. Lemy by comparison didn't look the least bit interested in the prospect. He finished his portion and left in a hurry. "He'll warm up in a few days." She tried to console her bothered looking uncle. "He's always like this at first." Even if they were visiting something they'd visited before, he would be moody at first.

"What's the matter?" Lyra couldn't say that with exact certainty. She just assumed he was angry at the situation he was in. She knew she'd been. She still was, really. For all the good visiting was, the long trips and change of surroundings put both of them on edge. She'd gotten better over the years of adapting, but Lemy hadn't.

She suspected there was a deeper reason too: there'd been times she'd seem him watching their cousins interacting with their mothers with obvious bitterness. Sometimes he'd look at her like that too. She wasn't sure why.

But their own dysfunctional family wasn't something she was going to openly discuss.

"He doesn't like new places." She lied. A small sin, one she'd amend later. Her uncle nodded, accepting it. He was being nice, she realized. A little awkward, but nice. He was really trying, putting a lot of effort into making them feel welcomed. She normally would let Lemy just thaw on his own, but she'd probably talk to him later.

Her uncle finished not too soon after, saying something about work he really had to get done. Lyra volunteered to take care of the dishes.

When she was done and entered the living room, Lincoln was at the desk, clearly working on something. Lemy was sitting cross-legged in front of the tv, looking through about a dozen plastic game cases. At least he was until Lyra knelt down and picked them up.

"Hey!" He protested. "C'mon!" He almost whined as his sister casually cycled through the cases, frowning at all the T and M rating labels.

"Do you have anything more suitable for kids?" She asked.

"I don't think so." Her uncle answered without looking up. "It's fine, really." He said. She noticed her brother doing a victory first pump out of the corner of her eye.

"You heard him. Hand them over!" Lemy's cocky grin deflated as his big sister's unamused expression turned down on him. "Please?" He muttered as an afterthought, not meeting her eyes. Though displeased, she gave them back. While Lemy choose which mindless activity to pursue, Lyra took a seat in the computer chair, next to the desk.

Lincoln was leaning over a sketchbook, making tiny and precise strokes with a colored pen. "That the comic you work on?"

"Nope." He didn't look up. "It's a commission. People like drawings of their favorite characters from games or movies so they pay people to make them. It gets me a little extra cash." She nodded and realized it wasn't best to disturb him. She started to rise from the chair but stopped.

Lyra had noticed something sitting on the corner the corner of the desk she hadn't last night- photographs, a few framed and many others stacked loosely together. One of the framed pictures was that family photo all her aunts had, but one of the others caught her eye: it was her mother, holding onto a bundle she realized was herself. She'd never seen a picture like that.

She reached forward and picked it up, the slightest bit awed. Her mother was still a teenager, wearing the purple skirt/ skull t-shirt combo she loved so much. She was seated on the end on a blue couch, holding a wrapped infant in her arms. What got Lyra though was her expression- she was looking down at her with such a soft expression on her face. So obviously caring…

"You can have that if you want." Lincoln offered, startling her. He'd looked up from his work to see her absorbed in the photo.

"Oh, n-no thanks." She stuttered and set the frame back down, slight emotion in her voice. Lyra remembered the time her mother was more attentive and involved in their lives, a time before they spent entire evenings by themselves or were sent to stay with other people. But seeing it in clear color stirred something in her. What had changed things so much?

"You ever see pictures of yourself when you were little?" Her uncle asked, collecting the unframed photos and trying to line them up. She admitted she hadn't. None of their family seemed big on pictures beyond that one copy of them together. Mom had never mentioned if she had any. But with a tendency to lose or destroy her luggage (except her guitar- she practically slept with the thing), it probably wouldn't have mattered if she did.

He picked through the stack, pulling out a few while explaining he had so many physical versions because he didn't trust computers. The entire stack, Lyra noticed, was family pictures from around the time her and her older cousins were born. When he held out the selected ones, his niece took them with an almost shaky hand.

Lyra quickly realized how her uncle had so clearly picked out the pictures with her in them; her mother's love of purple was evident in the fact it was the color of every onesie or other clothing she'd put on her daughter. Pictures of her in a crib, with her mother, being held by younger versions of her aunts and uncle. She paused when she came across one of her being held by an older woman with blond hair and a pink shirt. Something picked at her mind and Lyra realized she recognized the woman.

"Grandma."

"Yep." Her uncle confirmed. "Her and dad- grandpa- really took a liking to you." She looked just as caring as Lyra remembered, even if the circumstances- her mother was in the background- weren't so great. There was a picture of her grandfather holding her too. She held both pictures and stared at them for the longest time. Even video games couldn't distract Lemy forever and he got curious enough about what they were looking at and wandered over. Lyra showed him, explaining who they were.

There were a few pictures of her with a larger infant she realized had to be Liena. She stopped in amusement when she saw a picture of her uncle, clearly just an early teenager, passed out on the couch holding both of them. One of the last pictures was of her and Liena alongside a much tinier infant that had to be Loan.

"These are amazing." She said, picking up the rest of observe just out of curiosity. Lemy looked over her shoulder the whole time. There were quite a few baby pictures of her other cousins, but the majority were actually just of their aunts, uncle, and grandparents doing stuff together.

"Yeah, mom and dad started taking a lot of pictures the last few years while we were all still together. Before everyone started moving out…" Her uncle reminisced. Those had to have been troubling years, Lyra thought to herself.

"You got any of me?" Lemy asked. Lincoln frowned in thought. Lyra hadn't seen any in the stack.

"I think your mom sent me one." He tried to remember. "But I'd have to look for it." Whatever interest Lemy had in the subject vanished and he stalked back to the video games. Lincoln caught sight of a small digital clock on the desk and muttered something to himself before turning back to the commission he'd been working on. Lyra went through the stack again, lingering on the ones of her before setting it back down. She again stared at the framed picture of her mother holding her.

"Sorry." She interrupted her uncle's work. "But…can I keep this one?"

"Of course." He looked up and smiled. "Show you mother when she comes to get you guys. She'll like it too." Lyra thanked him and took the picture carefully out of the frame before going to carefully stow it in her luggage.

The rest of their first day there didn't have much excitement- the days visiting family rarely did. The amount of quiet was strange though. Even during school years, there was at least part of the day they'd have a cousin to interact with. No such thing here though.

Lemy spent the entirety of it planted in front of the tv with a controller in his hand, taking an extended break only when Lyra made lunch for the two of them. Their uncle didn't even eat lunch- one of the two or three times he got up in the span of six hours, he just returned to the desk with a bag of potato chips. Otherwise he sat there for the whole day, his arms the only thing moving and not paying attention or saying anything to the two behind him. He reminded Lyra of a cross between their aunt Lori- always absorbed in her work- and aunt Lucy- strangely still and silent.

It was the evening before he even said anything else to them or rose from the desk without immediately turning to head to another room. He stretched for a good minute, grumbling all the while. "You guys want dinner?" He asked. Lyra had spent the last hour on the couch, taking turns between reading and watching Lemy playing some game about shooting demons.

"Sure." Lemy didn't look from the screen.

"What are you making?" Lyra asked.

"Hmm." Her uncle thought for a moment. "Why don't you guys go pick out what you want for tonight?" He offered, a proposition that did get his nephew's attention. "Pick whatever you want and I'll make it. Just have to make a call first to your mother." He fished a cell phone out of his pocket.

The siblings got up and went to the kitchen, catching the first few words of the conversation behind them. "Luna? Yeah, they got here last night..."

"What's he got?" Lemy asked as his sister observed the contents of the fridge and cupboards. He really had stocked up, and with quite a variety too. Most of their meals on the road amounted to take out. The food they got at their aunts varied from well put together (aunt Lori, although her husband did the actual cooking) to tasteless and dull (aunt Lynn, but she always claimed it was healthy).

They settled on pasta. Lyra got all the ingredients and needed utensils out while Lemy sat at the table.

"I will." Lincoln moved into the kitchen doorway where they could hear him. "You want to talk to them?" Lyra stopped and looked over. Her uncle held the phone to his ear for a moment being extending it to her. She took it and stepped into the living room as her uncle took over dinner.

"Mom?"

"Lyra!" Her mom's raspy voice shouted back at her. From the noise in the background, it sounded like she was at yet another party. "How's my favorite dudette doing? I told you your uncle's awesome, didn't I?"

"He's very nice. We've already gotten settled in."

"Awesome. You guys are gonna have a rockin' time there, I promise." She said that about every visit, even to aunt Lucy.

"He even showed us some pictures he had of when you guys were still kids and I was born." Lyra went on, glancing behind her to see Lemy standing there listening.

"Aaaahhh." Her mother responded, quieter and more thoughtful. "He always did like keeping up with that stuff." Lyra felt Lemy pulling on her shirt.

"Lemy wants to talk to you." Lyra handed the phone to him. He took it and held it to his ear.

"Hey, mom." He said, quickly moving down the hall out of earshot of his sister. He always did that, and she'd respect his desire for privacy, so she went back to the kitchen to help her uncle.

"What'd you talk about?" Lyra asked, curious.

"I was just letting her know you guys got here safe. Where's my phone?"

"Lemy wanted to talk to her." Lincoln nodded in understanding. Her brother came back after about 5 minutes later and told her mom wanted to talk to her again. "Yes?" The background noise had gotten louder.

"Lyra!" Her mother had to yell again to be heard. "Just want to tell you to have fun, alright? And look after your brother." Pointless to ask since she already did.

"I will."

"Alright. I love you guys. Take care and I'll see you in a month."

"Love you too, mom. Bye." The call ended. Lyra looked at the phone in her hands for a moment and exhaled. Lemy had stayed to hear the end of the conversation and left when it was over.

"Something wrong?" Her uncle asked, unsure, as she handed him his phone back.

"No, everything's fine." She had no idea if he took her response at face value, but he didn't bring it up again.

Lyra asked to say grace before they ate. She rarely got a chance to do it while they were with mom, but her aunts usually let her. Her uncle was no exception. Otherwise, dinner was a quiet affair. Lincoln finished quickly and got back to work. He was polite enough to apologize and explain he had a lot of work to make up since he'd taken time off to get things ready for them to stay over. There was a moment or two while it was just them that Lemy looked like he was going to say something, but stopped himself. After dinner everyone just resumed what they'd been doing before.

Bedtime was one of the first powers of responsibility Lyra had ever been granted. Her mother had always told her to make sure her and her brother were in bed at a good time and then leave without actually making sure they did. But she never went against her on it. This hadn't been needed at any of their aunt's because they had their own children to send to bed. Even aunt Luan, who'd spend some evenings to go to performances, would warn them she'd know if they stayed up past bedtime because she had cameras around her apartment. It was an immature and unnecessary lie.

Hopefully a lie, anyway.

So as the clock ticked towards 9 o clock, Lyra kept an eye on her uncle to see if he'd say anything. But he never even looked up as it went past 9. She supposed he could be forgiven because of his work.

"It's late. We should go to bed." She said out loud. Her brother threw back his head and groaned in protest, something that cut off when he saw her looking at him.

"It is late." Her uncle realized. "You guys should."

"I'm not tired." Lemy complained.

"Bed." Lyra's tone left no room for arguments as she hoisted him up from his position on the floor. 10 minutes later, both were changed and in bed, one pointedly turned from the other with their arms crossed. "You were having fun." She said as she laid down after her prayer.

"I _was_."

"So you like it here?"

"I guess." He muttered, still trying to be difficult.

"Then stop being so rude." She told him. "He's trying to be nice to us and you're making him worry. Try to be polite." He grumbled something that sounded like 'fine' and pulled the blanket over his head. Feeling like she'd gotten her point across, Lyra laid back down and closed her eyes, ready to drift off to sleep. She was just started to get there where the mattress creaked and she heard her brother's voice.

"Lyra...? You still awake?"

"Hmm?" She opened her eyes and looked over to see he'd rolled over to face her.

"Can I ask you something...about those pictures uncle Lincoln showed us earlier?" He looked timid. It must've been important.

"What about them?" She'd thought he'd lost interest when he realized they didn't include him.

"I was just wondering...uhh..." He tripped over his words. "Never mind!" He suddenly turned back over and pulled the blanket back over his head, leaving his sister confused and admittedly curious. But whatever it was, he could ask her when he was ready. Lyra watched him try and stay perfectly still before reaching out and giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder over the blanket.

"Goodnight, Lemy." She told him before resting her head again and closing her eyes to drift off again.

"...Goodnight, Lyra." The muffled response came after a moment, and a slight smile graced her lips before she fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

So I've mentioned in a few correspondences with readers I intended to switch POVs a few times throughout the story. It's for narrative reasons, mostly; one character will notice details another won't, or a character won't acknowledge their own flaws when it's from their perspective. Plus, I want experience writing the other abominations for future stories.

Also, a thank you to the anonymous viewer Rising Sun, not only for his splendid reviews (and suspicious forsight), but for also pointing out that I did in fact forget something during the dinner part of the last chapter I always intended, but somehow missed during both writing and reviewing. It's been amended.

 **Onto the story**

Being surrounded by girls all the time sucked. Lemy hated it. They were annoying, they smelled weird, and they never wanted to do anything fun. But he was constantly surrounded by them. They always wanted to do boring stuff, they always had those "no boys allowed" talks, and they were always whining about him leaving the toilet seat up. It sucked. Girls sucked.

Except mom. She was cool. And Lyra…maybe…sometimes.

He'd been just a little excited when mom said that they were visiting their uncle. His aunts were okay (okay, aunt Leni was a lot of fun), and most of his cousins weren't that bad. Still, he really got tired or bored of them quickly. Aunt Lucy's house was just dull. Aunt Luan's was in a constant state of warfare that was only fun for the first few minutes. And while there was a lot of sports stuff at Aunt Lynn's house, it really wasn't worth getting into any of it when you'd inevitably be challenged instead of just having fun. The rest usually wanted to do girly stuff. So yeah, he'd been hopeful. A guy's house, and without a girl cousin! He wouldn't be outnumbered for once.

Things didn't kick off so good. Mom had gone on and on about how cool her brother was, for years now. So Lemy was expecting someone awesome. He was expecting the kind of guys he saw in mom's band or at her concerts- big, strong, tough looking dudes in awesome clothes. Uncle Lincoln, instead, was about as scrawny and plain as could be. And it didn't help that he immediately seemed to kick it off with Lyra.

Lemy didn't hate his sister, but she could really get on his nerves. Part of it was obviously just because she was the senior sibling and his caretaker, which meant she was always telling him what to do. And she stuck to him like glue. It was so annoying.

And she was a goody-two-shoes, always so nice and polite. And of course, her Bible and Religion. Lemy didn't buy into any of that; he liked his mom's description of it- "rubbish". And even though she'd stopped trying to get him into it, it didn't stop her from going on and on about it on her own. God has a plan for everyone and yadda, yadda yadda.

But what probably drove the biggest wedge between them was mom. Lemy was sure Lyra hated her- he had been for a while now. Oh sure, she kept her in her prayers (along with dad, the deadbeat), but he was certain she didn't really mean it. He didn't know why. Mom was cool, rich, and had fun for a living. She was freaking awesome. But Lyra just didn't care. She'd rant about mom's job and what she did to her face (she'd pretty much given that up in the last few years, thankfully). And even at 9 years old Lemy recognized what contempt was, and it dripped from so many of the words his sister said to their mother. He wouldn't be surprised if part of the reason mom sent them to stay with family was just so she wouldn't have to listen to her.

But what would really make him seethe was how she tried to keep him away from her. He did miss mom a lot, but he understood she was busy. You had to work to be that awesome. So he really wanted to take advantage of what time he could see her. Buy Lyra always seemed to get in the way.

Some mornings, after mom would wake up, Lyra would instruct him not to bother her for an hour or so, telling him she was still tired. He knew that was a lie because he'd do it anyway when she wasn't looking and mom would be just fine with it. Actually, they used that time a lot to practice guitar. Then whenever Lyra saw she'd get this little frown on her face, and Lemy would stick his tongue out at her while mom wasn't looking.

And some mornings mom would wake up feeling sick from partying too much, which sounded cool to Lemy, like eating candy till you puked. But he wanted to help her get better. Lyra would tell him no, shoo him away, and do it all herself. He didn't even know why, since she clearly didn't want to and just insulted her while she did.

And it was her fault he didn't get to see mom's career on anything but T.V. She offered them to come watch her shows or stay backstage, but Lyra would decline. Lemy couldn't go on his own because then no one would be there to keep an eye on him. Even mom was insistent on that. It sucked.

But despite all that, he couldn't bring himself to ever be really mad at Lyra. It was hard to be mad at the person who took care of you and fed you. At most, the worse she sounded with him was stern. She'd never blown up at him like she did mom (he was glad too; she was pretty scary when she got preachy). She just had some disarming quality about that her that kept Lemy from genuinely hating her, even if he tried to will himself to be. The most he could ever force himself to act was annoyed.

The weirdest thing was mom didn't seem to care, taking everything her daughter threw at her in stride. In fact, she stayed perfectly friendly. Even weirder to Lemy, there were time her and Lyra seem to get along just fine, his sister taking an interest whenever mom talked about family or even laughing sometimes at the stories. And now she'd gotten hooked over those pictures or her with mom. It was all really confusing. He wanted to ask, but he didn't think trying to talk to her about anything to do with mom was a good idea.

But yeah, he'd hoped it wouldn't be like with his aunts where they took an immediate liking to his sister over him and those got shot on the first day.

But his uncle had gained a few points back, mainly because of the video games and sticking up for him on the matter. Lemy hadn't expected anything beyond that though. The guy would just sit at his desk all day drawing those comics (Mom had bought him some before, they weren't his thing). Lyra had told him to be polite, but you get what you put in. If he was going to work instead of interacting with them and be no different then their aunts, he saw no reason to change his behavior either.

The changed on their fourth full day there. Instead of heading straight to his desk after breakfast, he announced with enthusiasm he was going to show them around town so they could find something they might like to do, since mom had given them some money before they left. Lemy barely suppressed groaning out at the announcement. He didn't _want_ to go out. He was out enough as it was. It wasn't very often he could sit around and play video games all day. He could barely get in an hour at an arcade before Lyra would drag him off again. He wanted to do that.

"Have an open mind." Lyra told him, following him to the bedroom to make sure he actually put his shoes on. "You might find something you like." He said nothing in response. "And at least it isn't Aunt Lynn making us go outside." She added, and he shuddered. So much running. So much leg pain. He wanted to bring his music player along to help the day go by faster, but Lyra wouldn't let him.

So rather than do something fun, at 10 in the morning he was following his uncle and sister down the stairs to go outside, only half listening as he went on and one about the city. Despite that he was wearing a vest and it was late June, it wasn't all that hot when they stepped outside. He wondered how cold it would be in August, when they had to go back to mom. When you traveled a lot, you could never get use to the weather.

When they climbed into his old car, Lemy in the backseat again, Lyra turned around to say one word to him before their uncle got in. "Behave." He nodded in confirmation. Their uncle climbed into the driver seat, and their little tour started as they left the front of the apartments.

"That-" Their uncle pointed to a store on the corner at the end of the street. "-is a Flip's Food and Fuel. You can walk down and go get snacks if you want. It's one of those new automated stores. There's a few of them around town. There used to be only one. I actually worked at it when I was 11."

"You had a job when you were _eleven_?" Lyra asked.

"Well, it was more an internship." Their uncle corrected. Lemy had no idea what that meant. "Me and my friend Clyde- this guy used to be my best friend; we did everything together. Had a lot of adventures…" He trailed off. Lemy wondered what it would be like if I had someone different to hang out with. "Anyway, yeah, we got an internship there. Lasted a whole day. A lot of fun, actually." He had a weird idea of what was fun.

"There's a bus stop right there." Lincoln told them as they turned the corner. "You can go anywhere in town from there." Lemy yawned and leaned back in his seat, wishing his sister hadn't snagged his music player while his uncle droned on and on about some of the nearby stores.

"We're about in the middle of the city." He kept on explaining. "Anything you want to do is close by. You get on the highway and you'll just go to the city and you'll just get lost in the suburbs if you go too far in any direction."

"The rest of the family live out there, don't they?" Lyra asked.

"Huh?"

"Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Lily." Lyra clarified.

"No." Lincoln said, suddenly serious. "No…they…moved a few years ago" He started nodding to himself. "Yeah, dad was a really great chef. Had to be to feed thirteen people. He always wanted to open his own restaurant. By the time everyone was moving out, he'd finally saved up enough and opened one in the city. They moved there with Lily."

"I see." Lyra nodded. Lemy only found the story slightly interesting because it was about people he barely knew. Mom hadn't talked about them, or any of his other aunts.

Things got quiet after that and dragged on for a couple of minutes of driving till they drove past something familiar.

"I recognize that park." Lyra looked to the other side of the street. "That's where aunt Lynn takes us sometimes." Lemy followed his sister's gaze at the fenced in expanse of green. It looked different from the road, but he recognized it too. "Her and Lacy live two blocks from here." Lyra went on.

"Yeah, they do." Lincoln confirmed. Of course they knew they lived here, but Lemy didn't think they lived so close. Waking up early while they stayed there sucked, and Lacy was easily the most annoying of all their cousins. She always chose to bug him over Lyra for whatever reason. But Aunt Lynn did talk to them a lot, and he did secretly like the idea of looking buff.

"Actually, Luan and her live within 10 miles of my apartment. Lucy's on the edge of town, maybe half an hour away." He said. "How many times have you guys come to visit them?" Lemy didn't keep count of that. Lyra probably did though.

"Hmm…I think maybe eleven times between all of them." She answered.

"And they never talked about visiting each other?" Their uncle asked. "You never saw another while you were visiting one?

"Never." Lemy's sister shook her head.

"Huh…weird." Lincoln muttered, almost to himself.

"Our cousins mentioned visiting you though." Lyra stated.

"Yeah, I watch them every now and then." Their uncle confirmed. "Let their moms have a night for themselves."

"Hmm." Lyra acknowledged. Lemy rolled his eyes. He'd heard her make that noise a million times. She wouldn't outright say if she thought something was stupid. She'd just make that stupid sound and raise her head slightly. Because, again, she had to be a goody two shoes.

Their little tour around the town continued for at least an hour after that. He showed Lyra a church a few streets over she could walk to if she wanted. Another time, they passed some place called Gus' Games and Grub, an arcade and food place their uncle highly praised.

Among the other locations he showed them were more stores, a cinema, a mini-golf place, and even a mall (talk about a relic) on the edge of town. Lemy had to admit that by the end he was getting a little interested- that was a lot of stuff he'd never done.

He was starting to day dream too. It boggled his mind that his mom and all her siblings had so much freedom. He started to think about what he'd do if Lyra didn't shadow or pull him along everywhere. Maybe find some other kids and start his own band? He actually smiled at that, at least till Lyra looked back and he immediately stopped.

Once the tour was over, their uncle treated them to lunch at a burger joint he said was his favorite- Burpin Burger. It looked like any of the hundreds of places they stopped at when they were on the road with mom. Seen one, seen all. But food was food.

"So, did you see anything you wanted to do?" Lyra asked him. Their uncle was at the front counter ordering while they sat at one of the tables.

"Maybe." Lemy shrugged. Okay, some of it did sound interesting. He just wasn't sure if it was interesting enough to leave the apartment for. Arcades were cool, but they weren't as good as what you got on consoles. They could just buy movies on DVD. There wasn't a point in buying a whole lot of other stuff either, because that just meant having to lug it around all the time. Golf and bowling, he guess he could give a try.

"Just let me know." She told him, and he rolled his eyes. Because obviously she'd have to come with.

There uncle came back with a food-laden tray a few minutes later and started to talk while they ate. "Funny story: the lot of us almost had to spend the night here. There was a contest here to meet this racecar driver your aunt Lana really liked, and she dragged us all along to help her win. A snowstorm rolled through though and snowed us in."

"How'd you get out?" Lyra asked.

"Lana won, but she traded it to someone so they'd give us a ride out of there. She still got to meet her hero in the end though."

"That still doesn't sound like very much fun." Their uncle shrugged.

"It's one of those things that changes if you look back at it later. It definitely wasn't one of the worst adventures we all had."

"Oh yeah, what was the worst?" Lemy asked. Both watched, suddenly concerned as he got a far-off look in eyes, the burger starting to slip from his slacked hands.

"April Fools." He muttered absentmindedly. He suddenly shook his head, immediately looking more upbeat. "There aren't that many, actually. Not compared to the fun ones, anyway. Did you guys know your mom got us together in a family band for a talent show once?" Both shook her head. Lemy tried to imagine his mom and aunts all trying to make music together, and it seemed impossible. "It was a lot of fun. Who know what we also did? Nearly destroy a hotel."

Both of them sat there listening to him tell stories for the next few minutes, sometimes forgetting their food. They were that entertaining. Some of them were so over the top though Lemy was sure he was pulling their legs, and a lot didn't match up with what he knew of their family. Aunt Luan was a joker, but she never came off as a psychopath. He couldn't imagine Aunt Lucy being into anything that wasn't dark and miserable (seriously, he fell over things in the dark all the time in that house). He had to be exaggerating a lot of it.

Still, they were entertaining. How come he never got to have adventures like that? Or any at all? How come he had to have a boring sister and cousins that never wanted to do anything? He was starting to feel a little envy. Still, he listened to the stories in interest.

Their uncle ended up getting a little too into one of his stories though (one about a comic he wrote for a contest his sisters helped him submit) and brought his hand down on the table directly onto a ketchup packet. The result was it bursting and the sending the contents flying at the person opposite of him, which happened to be Lyra.

"Sorry!" Their uncle said quickly, reaching for the napkins. Lemy broke out in snorting laughter. His sister just looked down at the stain on her button up shirt, seeming only the slightest bit annoyed.

"Don't worry." She accepted the napkin. "Excuse me while I go clean up." She got up and headed to the restroom, by which point Lemy had gotten over his laughing fit. Actually, he clammed up quickly when he realized it was just him and his uncle, a man he barely knew. So he just sat there, unknowingly sporting an expression like he'd just sucked on a lemon.

"Sooo…" Lincoln tried to start a conversation with him. "Your sister said you don't like new places?" Oh, had she? What else did she say about him? But he at least remembered what she said to him the other night.

"Eh." He shrugged. "I'm used to it." He admitted. What exactly was Lyra expecting him to say and act like? Polite? "Mom always said you were a cool guy." He offered. Aside from things like "thank you" that Lyra enforced, compliments and the like weren't something he did often. "Your place is pretty cool. The rest just suck because I'm surrounded by girls all the time."

"Oh, believe me, I know." His uncle assured him, smirking. "I had to live with _ten_ of them. In _one_ house. With _one_ bathroom." Okay, that sounded like it definitely sucked. The most crowded they ever got was the tour bus since mom travelled separate from the rest of the band. Around 10 hours a day with just them, mom, and sometimes Sam (mom's girlfriend was pretty cool too. She'd actually helped him make the vest he was wearing now) together in one space. Having to live constantly with one girl was bad enough, but 10?

"Bollocks to that." He quoted something his mom said from time to time, and his uncle laughed.

"Got to work on your accent, but you're almost as good as your mom." He told him. "You going to be a Rockstar like her?"

"Yeah." Lemy nodded. He wanted to, anyway. He knew he had to get a lot better at guitar…and learn how to come up with song lyrics…and learn run a band. Actually, there was a lot he needed do if he wanted to follow in her footsteps. He'd imagined playing in front of huge crowds like mom did, and the thought kind of scared him. But he thought he could do it too. Mom had helped him get better at guitar, and maybe she'd help with the other stuff too. It was still daunting though; mom always said she'd started early.

Their uncle was a lot more conversational then their aunts. Well, about stuff they cared about, anyway; Leni would ramble on about a lot of things, Luan put a pun or joke in everything, and Lynn never shut up about fitness. None of the rest had talked to them much, let alone about each other or mom.

Lemy wondered…

"When did mom really start playing?" He asked. His uncle took a moment to collect his thoughts.

"Well, she didn't actually always want to be a Rockstar. She only got into that when she was…11 or 12, I think."

"The Mick Swagger concert." Mom had told him the story 100 times about how she found her calling.

"Right." His uncle nodded. "That concert completely changed her." A thought crossed Lemy's mind, and he interjected.

"What was she like before that?" He asked, curious and unable to imagine her as anything else.

"Before?" Lincoln smiled slightly. "She still had a interest in music, just not rock. She used to sing lullabies to me and the others when we were little."

"Who now?" Lyra asked, returning to her seat beside her brother. Lemy's mood soured again.

"Your mom." Their uncle explained. "Before she got into rock, she was into classical music and had this really soft singing voice."

"Oh?" Lyra sounded interested. Lemy was sure she was faking it to be polite.

"Yeah. I'll have to dig around my closet later, but I'm sure I have a picture of her before she was into rock. But yeah," He turned back to Lemy. "She was already playing with friends when she 13. Not exactly sure when she started performing in front of other people. Might've been that talent show I mentioned. I know she and her friends were the opening act for some real bands at the arena. You know, they let the amateurs have a chance to shine? I'm pretty sure that's how she got her start." A talent show? Huh, mom really had started small. Could he find something like that to get kickstarted?

"She had a solo career here in town for a little while." He recalled. "Her and her friends sent all their demos out and they got picked up. But Luna decided to stay living at home for a few years." He smiled at Lyra.

"I was born?" He nodded.

"She dropped everything to take care of you. She didn't even perform again after you were born till you about two, I think. Mom and dad always volunteered to watch you."

"Hmm." He watched his sister nod. Oh, what was her problem with that? He glared at her, and he was sure she noticed out of the corner of her eye.

"So uh…you guys ready to head home?" The uncle asked awkwardly.

"Yes."

"Whatever." Their uncle would glance between them in the mirror the whole ride home.

 _ **Later that night…**_

The day had been an interesting one. Lyra had enjoyed her uncle's tour of the town. All the times they'd come here, and they'd never really seen it. She was particularly interested in the church he'd shown them. Obviously, she'd never had time to attend one regularly, especially when she had to watch her brother. It wasn't necessary for her faith, but if there was an opportunity while she was here, she'd take it. He'd shown and talked about a _lot_ of stuff.

Like his parents- their grandparents. Clearly their uncle wasn't fond of discussing them in the present as he was in photos. Maybe he'd had a falling out with them same as mom. But other then that, she'd learned more in one day from one relative then in nearly a dozen visits to many. She was actually getting somewhat curious about her family history.

It was a wonder their aunts hadn't made even a little mention of any of that. Then again, their uncle had gone on and on about the freedom they all had even when they were young that let them have such fun. Look what it did for the lot of them in the end. Perhaps they'd wised up to the dangers of it.

She hoped Lemy had found something that interested him and took this chance while it was here. She'd take time out of her day if it meant him doing something other than watching tv or guitar.

He'd actually spent an hour or two quietly practicing when they got home, no doubt encouraged by their uncle's story about mom's early career.

Lyra didn't have a problem with rock music; she didn't buy into the view it was satanic or the Devil's music or anything like that. She realized a lot had okay messages and stories in them. She'd never gotten into it though like her mother or brother; it just didn't interest her. Her mother had tried to get her into Christian Rock Music in the last few years, and while it didn't suit her, Lyra appreciated the effort.

That's what a lot of her goodwill to her mother came down to these days- she tried, even if it didn't always work or was as often as she liked.

It was the lifestyle associated with rock music. The indecency, the substances, the overt rebellion against peace, quiet, and order. It all disgusted her.

It didn't surprise her Lemy took so closely after mom in interests. It wasn't just that he was surrounded by that culture 24/7, but he'd always been really close to her too, and what child didn't try to emulate their parent? He'd try and squeeze in time to talk to her even at inappropriate times. Even though he was 9, there were still mornings she woke and up and discovered not only that mom had come home safely in the night, but at some point Lemy had crawled into bed next to her.

Lyra knew that for all she could do for her brother, she wasn't going to turn him off that path if he chose to take it. She just hoped he wouldn't end up as one of those really bad artists. She knew enough about that world to know her mother, for all her vices, was still far from the worst lifestyle. At least she knew he wouldn't have to start his career the same way mom did- panhandling for travel money to get to California so she could bum on a friend's couch for a few months while trying to be noticed.

What had those people really given her mother money for? Her guitar playing, still talented even though she had to awkwardly hold it against her swollen stomach? Or for the little girl sitting on the suitcase next to her mother?

Her uncle's stories had re-ignited some of her dormant resentment against her mother. What had been so bad about living here that she had to drop everything and uproot across the country and embrace an entirely new lifestyle on the road, especially when she was about to have another child? Was she only willing to delay her career once? It hadn't been too bad at first; Lyra could still remember those few months after they moved. Mom would only go out at night after they were both asleep, but otherwise still spent most of the day with them.

Even her early career had been the same way; though they still travelled, and mom was admittedly busier in the day, she still spent time with her children- Lyra could still remember a lot of early homeschooling with her mother- and the only playing she did was after her children went to bed. But they'd inevitably get older and bed time would move up.

Lyra wondered if her mom had looked forward to the days her children became more independent. She'd been teaching her daughter when she was 8 how to properly care for her baby brother, and even started trusting her to watch him alone for minutes at a time. The first time she'd given Lyra complete responsibility was when she was 9, watching Lemy for nearly two hours while she had to go do something or another related to her career. It was easily the most terrifying moment of her life up to that point. She'd spent almost all of it holding her 3-year-old brother in bed even after he clearly started to get annoyed by it and try and get away from her. That didn't actually become the status quo until she was 11, which was also about the time mom would start sending them to stay with relatives.

She'd gone with them to very first time, when they stayed with Lori. She'd insisted it'd be fun for them, and Lyra had been excited. Lemy hadn't- it was a new and scary experience to him. He'd been bawling before they even pulled into the driveway. And she'd stayed for about fifteen minutes, talked to her sister, and tried to calm down her son, but she'd still left before he'd calmed down. Lyra really had to wonder…

Speaking of Lemy, she noticed him not so subtly glaring at her while she said her nightly prayer. He'd been giving her a bitter look since before they got home. "Is something the matter?" She asked as she stood up and walked over to shut the light off.

"No." He turned his back to her. She watched him lay there unnaturally still for a moment before she climbed into bed.

"I'm here whenever you want to talk." She told him. A few moments of silence passed.

"Why do you hate mom so much?" He asked without rolling over. The first words were agitated but tapered off near the end.

"Excuse me?" Lyra sat up. Did he just ask her if she _hated_ mom? "I don't hate mom, Lemy. Don't use such a dangerous word lightly." Where had he even gotten an idea like that?

"Well, you don't act like it." He muttered.

"Sit up and talk to me." He so reluctantly. "When have I ever acted like I hated mom?" He stared at her, tight lipped she assumed, then told her. All the arguments, all the insults, all the glares of disapproval. He flung all his evidence at her, finally ending with a defiant glare as if daring her to deny it. Lyra needed a moment to gather her thoughts.

Yes, she called their mother out on her more severe faults and mistakes. She had a right to. But she didn't hate her. She loved her for what she'd done, and what she still managed to do. She didn't know that's what it had looked like to him.

But she could see how her brother might misconstrue those actions. At his age he was blind to mom's faults or just didn't understand them, something Lyra had tried her hardest to accomplish, so he'd just see her actions as malice. She had no idea how much he really comprehended on the wider subject.

So how could that without actually telling him the deeper truth?

She sighed. "Lemy, listen to me. I don't hate mom. I just get annoyed with her sometimes for my own reasons. You get annoyed with me all the time, don't you?"

"Yeah…" He muttered, clearly not expecting her to turn things back on him.

"But you still love me?"

"I guess…" She leaned forward and pulled him into a hug.

"Family members get annoyed at each other all the time. They argue and fight. But they always love each other. I still love mom even though she annoys me. We love each other even if we annoy each other. And no matter what mom does to annoy you, you should always love her." She had no idea what the future might hold in that regard. "Do you understand?"

"…Yeah." He returned the hug. "I love you too, Lyra."

"Good." She patted him on the back. "Now get some sleep, okay?"


	4. Chapter 4

Wow, 3000 views and nearly 50 people subscribed. I had no idea this would get this popular when I first published it. Thank you everyone for the support.

And I've noticed a lot of other stories about these kids are popping up. Won't claim anything for that since I wasn't the first, but I will say I'm surprised by it. Kinda iffy too; they're interested in their own right, but some of those stories are them exclusively. I'm of the opinion they're best when they're there for the benefit of Lincoln and his sisters. I mean, here I'm trying to make it their story as much as their kids.

But that's just me.

 _Onto the story_

"Do you understand?" Lyra had asked him. Lemy had told her he did. That had been a lie. He just hadn't been willing to talk about it any further- her reaction and response had humbled him into silence. He wasn't even sure why he'd been stupid enough to ask her in the first place.

Okay, so Lyra didn't hate mom. He believed her on that…But he still didn't understand. If Lyra annoyed him, he just tried to be difficult. If he annoyed her she just sounded stern. But why did she act so mean when mom annoyed her? What did mom even do in the first place to annoy her? Mom could be a little weird or gross sometimes, mostly from coming home smelling weird, but she didn't yell at them or tell them off. She'd even got her that necklace.

And family members got annoyed with each other but still loved each other? Was that why she kept their deadbeat dad in her prayers? Lemy personally didn't even care remotely about that subject; he'd gone more than half his life without realizing he should have one. Mom and his sister were all he needed. Mom didn't care either that he could see. Lyra probably only cared because of the Bible. Father this, Father that, blablabla. If Lemy did care, which he really didn't, he'd be more than just annoyed. Oh, but hate was a bad word.

He was confused about a lot of things still, but he would push down his curiosity. He didn't want to have another conversation like that. He'd probably just end up not understanding again anyway. Besides, there was something kind of scary about his sister when she was like that. That was the best word he could think of, anyway.

Usually Lyra woke up before him. This morning, they both woke up at the same time. He'd rolled over close to her during the night so that when she stirred, she ended up waking him too. Upon realizing their proximity, Lemy made a disgusted sound and quickly rolled over to add some distance.

"Good morning." His sister took no notice of his action.

"Morning." He grumbled, sitting up since he knew he'd have a hard time going back to sleep. He was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes when Lyra unexpectedly leaned over and hugged him.

"Everything still okay?"

"…Yeah." He lied. "Everything's fine."

"Sorry if I was cross last night." She really hadn't been, but he saw what she was trying to do.

"It's fine." He muttered, hoping she'd let him go. She did and got out of bed.

"I'm here if you ever want to talk." He nodded to show he heard her. She left the bedroom and crossed the hallway to the bathroom. After a minute Lemy got up went out in the hallway to wait at the door for his turn. They must've woken up their uncle, cause Lemy heard noise from the living room before the man in question stumbled into the hallway.

"Lyra's in there." Lemy informed his groggy relative. "Get in line." His uncle chuckled at that.

"Yep. This is what I meant about growing up with 10 girls. There was always a line." He leaned against the wall, a bit of a smile on her lips. "And all of them took forever." That sounded familiar. He didn't live with that many, but the ones he did took their sweet time.

"Lyra's like mom then." Lemy smirked to himself.

"I think that's just all girls." Lincoln offered. Lyra's muffled voice carried through the door a moment later.

"AHEM." Apparently she could hear them and wasn't amused. Lemy wondered if it was because they were poking fun at girls or the comparison to mom. Still funny either way. When she came out she gave both one of her usual unamused looks as she passed. Lemy avoided eye contact and Lincoln purposely did some nonchalant whistling.

Okay, _that_ was funny. Lemy grinned to himself. Aside from that look, she apparently decided it wasn't worth admonishing both of them. He could get used to not being outnumbered anymore. He just knew he couldn't press his luck.

Well…maybe he'd try a little.

 _ **Later that day…**_

There wasn't anything remarkable for the rest of the morning. Lemy filled in the indent on the couch his butt had already made and wasted the hours away on more gaming. Lyra watched him for a little while, before retreating to her reading. She'd made a lot of progress in the past years of memorizing all the passages, and she hoped to memorize them all, eventually.

Around midday, she drifted over to her uncle's computer and asked to use it. She wanted to look up and write down the bus schedules, figuring it would be useful. Lincoln allowed it. She didn't notice her uncle getting up and disappearing into the hallway until he announced his return a few minutes later.

"Found it!" Their uncle declared triumphantly, walking into the living room with two books in his hands. Both siblings turned to look at him. "These-" He explained as he sat down next to Lemy. "Are photo albums. I said I could find a picture of your mother before she was into rock." He sat down next and Lemy. "And the other one has some more baby pictures in it." Curiosity piqued, Lyra got up and went to sit beside her uncle. He was already flipping through the pages of the first book, and Lemy had paused his game to look over.

She caught brief glimpses of picnics, school functions, and a lot of other family outings are her uncle flipped through the album before stopping on one page. "Here." He held it out for them both to look at. It was a family picture like the one they all had- on the same porch even-, although clearly a few years before and with less people in it. Aunt Lori was barely a teenager and Leni looked right on the threshold, both standing at the back. Aunt Luan and Aunt Lynn were sitting in front of them, and in their laps were younger versions of both their uncle and Aunt Lucy. But what they were staring at was the third girl standing next to Leni. "That's your mom." Lincoln pointed out unnecessarily.

She was obviously before her teenage years like Leni, beaming happily at the camera. Her hair was longer instead of a short cut, just a little shorter than her daughter's now, and curled at the ends. She more a much more feminine blouse and longer dress skirt (although of the same color). Unlike now, she didn't have earrings. She looked pure, petite, lady like even.

" _That's_ what mom looked like?" Lemy voiced his surprise.

It was strange to look at. Lyra took hold and flipped through the next few pages, covering months and even years, watching the transformation. First it was t-shirts and jeans. Then t-shirts and skirts. Keeping her hair long lasted the longest, but that too was eventually gone. Lyra didn't have photos, but she remembered what she looked like in a mirror. They were almost identical before her mom's rock makeover.

The comparison between the pair of them at the same age came back to her. She was a little taller and her hair was flat, and she had a slightly more feminine figure, but the resemblance was unmistakable. It wasn't too far a stretch to say she was a good approximation for what her mother would've looked like at 15 if she hadn't got into rock culture. And if she changed her stylistic preferences, she could end up looking more like her mom than she thought she could.

It was amazing, and little bit unsettling.

"Man, mom fell in love with rock _hard_." Lemy was looking between Lyra and the picture.

"Oh yeah." Their uncle nodded. He closed that album and opened the other one. "Remember how I said your mom a sent picture of you when you were a baby? She actually sent a few." Lemy couldn't hide the excitement on his face. Lyra had to smile at that; he didn't make that expression often.

Their uncle flipped through the book, passing dozens of pictures of their other cousins at various stages of their early lives. "You take a lot of pictures." Lyra commented.

"I didn't take all of them." He shook his head. "A lot of these are copies of one's mom, dad, and your Aunt Lily took. I just collect them." He flipped the pages a little slower, going through a few of little ones Lyra assume was Liby and Lacy. "Your aunts come by sometimes to look at them. They trust me to keep up with these." Maybe that explained why their mom and aunt didn't have many pictures.

"Mom comes here to Royal Woods to play every few years. Did she ever come by here?" Lyra asked. She'd done it twice in both her and Lemy's lifetime. The first time she left them with Aunt Lori out of state. The second, they stayed with Aunt Lucy for those three days.

"No…but I went to see her the last time she was here." He answered. She detected some underlying discomfort in his statement. "It's hard for a lot of us to see each other anymore." He admitted, sounding let down. Lyra nodded sympathetically. "Here they are." He stopped on a page and passed it the book over to Lemy. "She sent me these." Lyra leaned over to look.

There was only five, but they were baby pictures in the most literal sense- all of them had to have been taken in the hospital the day he has born. One of them was him right after being born and attended to by the nurses. He'd come in his birthday suit, obviously. Her brother looked kind of peeved at that. One was mom holding him in the hospital bed after he'd been wrapped in a blanket, and another was the same thing except Lyra was lying in the bed space next to her looking at the infant in obvious wonder.

She remembered that day. Mom had told her she was going to have a little brother, and she'd been excited; in hindsight, maybe it was because she missed having other children around to play with after the move. Then the big day came. Lyra had spent the day with some of mom's friends, including Sam, while the delivery happened and they'd taken her back when it was done. She really had been in wonder; mom had been big for the longest time and all of a sudden there was another person there. Someone she'd grow up with, someone she could play and do things with.

The fourth picture was of herself holding her new brother. She'd been so giddy about it. Mom had told her to careful because babies and fragile and needed a lot of work to take care of. She'd promised she would be and help out all she could.

Naïve six old her hadn't realized within a few years she wouldn't be just helping but doing most of it. _Ok, maybe that isn't fair_. She admitted internally. That was really an exaggeration. She shouldn't be spiteful; it was too pure a memory to do that to.

The last picture was him in a crib at home, or the friend's house mom had been staying at, anyway. Eyes closed, and fists raised above his head. Wearing another purple onesie, just like his sister had worn.

What precious times those early years had been.

Lemy spent several minutes starting down at the pictures. Lyra couldn't see his face past his long hair, but she wondered what he really thought about them. Did he even recognize there was a difference in the way mom had been in their lives? What feelings did they give him? Wishful nostalgia like her, or something different entirely?

"They're pretty neat." He admitted quietly, sliding the book back over. Their uncle flipped it back a few pages and angled it towards Lyra.

"More of you when you were little, if you were curious." He started flipping through the pages. Just more of her with her mom or grandparents or aunts. One was of her being held by an older white haired man she didn't recognize.

"That's Pop-Pop. Grandma's dad." Her uncle explained when she asked. "He was a pretty cool. Served in the Navy. Never thought he'd live long enough to see his first great grandchild. He actually lived long enough to see five of them. Only passed away about four years ago."

"He sounds interesting." Lyra said. _Would've been nice if mom mentioned him..._

"And pretty cool." Lemy added.

"He was." Their uncle confirmed. "Really missed him…" They looked through a few more pictures, and Lyra had to stop and stare in amusement at one of her curled up sleeping on her uncles chest while he himself was sleeping on a bed.

"So at the house we all stayed in I had a room to myself since I was the only boy." Her uncle explained. "All your aunts were two to a room. It'd get so noisy or someone would be going in and out none of you could sleep. So they'd put any of you in my room during nap time."

"Is that a stuffed animal?" Lemy asked. Looking again, Lyra noticed her sleeping uncle has holding something- a white stuffed rabbit.

"That's Bun-Bun." Lincoln answered immediately. "There's nothing wrong with having a stuffed animal at any age." He defended.

"You mean you _still_ have a stuffed animal?" His nephew asked, perplexed by what he probably thought as a sissy notion.

"No." Their uncle shook his head. "Bun-Bun was always my favorite, but I gave them to your Aunt Lily. She was really down about everyone starting to move out, realizing eventually it would just be her… I thought she'd like a constant companion." Lemy bit his tongue over having insulted a selfless act. Lyra nodded approving.

That story, the pictures, the way he was readily retold everything and tried to stay in contact with the rest of his sisters. He was clearly a family-oriented man. The way things were fractured must've hurt him.

The trio's musing over old pictures was interrupted by Lincoln's phone going off in his pocket. He pulled it out and Lyra caught a brief glimpse of the screen. The caller ID clearly said LYNN. "Here." He pushed the photo album into Lyra's lap and stood up to answer, moving down the hallway. "Hey Lynn." They heard him say before the bedroom door closed. Lemy scooted over next to his sister.

"Sorry if there weren't as many as you hoped." She offered, knowing he'd wanted to see some. He didn't look that bothered..

"It's fine." He shrugged, getting a smirk on his face. "They were cool. And I'm glad there aren't more" He looked over to her "It means there's nothing embarrassing about me." He flipped a few pages pack to one filled with, among other things, potty training pictures. She lightly swatted away her cackling brother's hand and turned the page back.

"I don't need pictures." She told him. "I remember everything since I was there." That realization and its ramifications made him go pink in the face. "You were such a cute baby." He crossed his arms and huffed at her. She just smiled back and went back to looking at the pictures. After a few seconds of sulking he joined her.

They looked through the next few in silence. Milestones passed by: Her first time standing up, first and second birthdays complete with messily devoured cake. Even more pictures with either mom or younger versions of her relatives.

"Ugh." Lemy recoiled. Lyra looked over to see what had offended him and saw a picture of her and mom at the beach. She never knew she'd been to the beach before. Mom was standing in ankle high water in a two-piece bikini, holding Lyra, who had to be around 2, with one arm and using the other to flash a sign at the camera with her fingers. Her daughter has clearly trying to imitate her, not quite pulling it off but still holding her fist towards the camera. Going from her mother's… "sturdier" body shape, this was at a point before she started performing again or even considered it.

That was such a foreign concept to her. She was sure it was as much to Lemy even though she had six years on him. By all accounts of her uncle, that had been mom's life before they were born, and it had been her life for nearly the last whole decade. But she'd switched from and to it suddenly. Lyra loved and appreciated her, she really did. But she couldn't comprehend her mother's thought process.

Lemy turned the page without looking at the rest. More pictures of Lyra, sometimes with Liena or even more rarely even Loan, with the rest of the family. Maybe she gave her mother too much credit, because it looked a lot like the whole family had raised her. She stopped at a picture of her with Lola and Lana. They were trying to lift baby her into a battery powered toy car.

Two aunts she couldn't even say she knew, along with Lily. She at least saw Aunt Lisa on TV occasionally. She knew what her grandparents looked like and what they were doing now, even if it was only recently learned. But she knew nothing about them.

She had to wonder again about the rift in the family. She'd always known her mom and most her aunts were estranged from their parents. Maybe she'd even noticed they were estranged from each other before her uncle mentioned it yesterday (Aunt Lori hadn't exactly been thrilled to see her sister). But she'd never stopped to deeply consider why.

The pictures were making her want to. Everyone had gotten along so well before, what could have possibly ruined it? And no person was above sin; maybe she felt a twinge of envy and wanted to know why those bridges had been burned to deny them a life like that- it clearly seemed like her, Loan, and Liena had at first.

Was it any of them? She couldn't imagine her grandparents were even remotely pleased of so many of their daughters being teenage mothers. There were the pictures that showed them happy with them, but she knew pictures only captured a brief moment and could be misleading.

For instance, mom always looked sober in press pictures.

And maybe there was only so much a person could take. All the pictures she'd seen was of Liena, her, and occasionally Loan. Even if she'd started young, Lori had at least started with someone she was committed to; she couldn't imagine they had any qualms with their eldest daughter. And perhaps this was cruel of Lyra to consider, but maybe they even suspected something like this would happen with both Aunt Leni and mom.

But it hadn't ended with them- Luan and Lynn had been repeat cases at nearly the same age as their older sisters. And lastly there'd been Aunt Lucy. Even if none of them had explicitly said it, Lyra could deduce that she'd been 14 when she got pregnant and only 15 when she gave birth, younger than any of them before.

Maybe it had been a move to protect their remaining four daughters by removing any negative influence on them. Maybe their uncle got cut off because he stuck by them. Or maybe she was wrong, her grandparents were entirely great people, and she was making unfair malicious assumptions about them.

But she really wondered…

She was so caught up in her theorizing, she didn't realize her brother was impatiently waiting for her to turn the page. She didn't break out of it till her uncle came back into the room, reminding them both he'd disappeared for the last few minutes.

"Right." He sat down at his desk chair. Lyra couldn't help but noticed he looked hurried- nervous, a slight twitch of the hand, and sweating even though he hadn't left the house. "Remember how I said your cousins come by and visit me sometimes?" He asked. They both nodded. "Well, I just talked to your Aunt Lynn and Lacy's going to come spend the day and night here later this week, so I figured we could all go do something. Sounds fun, right?" Lyra nodded in affirmation, although she was wondering why such an arrangement would stress her uncle out.

"Sounds great." Lemy slumped back on the couch. Lyra knew they had trouble getting along sometimes. She'd told them off for roughhousing numerous times. She'd even caught them once tangled on the ground trying to pull each other's pants down. She had no idea how they'd ended up like that, but she'd put a stop to it quickly. But there were times they got along too.

"So…uh, you guys can keep looking at those pictures if you want. I got to get some work done." He jerked a thumb behind him to his desk.

"We were done." Lyra explained, her mood to reminisce having been deflated by her theorization. Lemy didn't contest her on that and went back to his video games. After asking her uncle, Lyra carried the albums back to the bedroom to put them away.

She was curious, but she had no intention of trying to pry any answers out of him, not when he'd been such a gracious host. No, but maybe she'd try and pry them out of her mother next time she saw her. She felt she owed them to her.


	5. Chapter 5

I don't mind the comparison to Flagg that much. He's a good author and I like some of his stories. Has his flaws and some of his content freaks me the fuck out (we all know "that" story), but he has plenty of strengths. Not to mention that Godly update schedule. Plus, it's pretty much obvious at this point he blew the starting whistle for more stories about these kids. Jury's still out on whether or not that's a good thing.

Bitchy? Tut-tut Guest reviewer. Remember that so far you've only gotten mostly one side of the story and that it's going to be biased.

Onto the story

7 in the morning on a Thursday. A lot of people in Royal Woods were just crawling out of bed or silencing their alarm clocks to steal just a few more precious minutes of sleep. Those who were up were making the trudge to work. It was lethargic like any small town in the morning.

But there were always people who woke up and hit the ground running- some literally, even. Two females in Royal Woods were known practitioners of this philosophy and were a very common sight on summer mornings running or jogging. This morning was no exception.

At the moment, they were jogging in place at a pedestrian crosswalk waiting for a chance to cross. One was an adult the other a preteen. The adult stood barely over 5 feet, with brown hair trimmed neatly but just short a buzz cut. The two-piece exercise outfit she wore prominently showed off muscled arms and legs and a finely chiseled stomach.

The 12-year-old next to her had longer hair tied back in a pony tail, hair which was an oddly light shade of brown in comparison. She did look short for her age, but there was no missing her strong physique even though it paled to the woman beside her.

The crosswalk light changed and both girls bolted across the street, clearing it in just under three seconds and resuming a steady jog down the sidewalk. "New record, Lacy!" The woman called as they reached the other side- a designated halfway point in their jog.

"Third time in a row!" Lacy Loud called back to her mom. They didn't usually take this route more than a few times a year. Their usual route led them in a two-mile lap back to their apartment. This was a one-way route to her uncle Lincoln's house.

Summers were tough for the two. During the school year, her mom was a gym teacher and sports captain for a private school that had cropped up in town for people who didn't want their children in the public schools in the big city. Lacy got to attend for that reason. It paid good- when school was in session. In the summer, things tended to get a little tighter even when they saved, and her mom had to take odd jobs. Sometimes her brother- Lacy's uncle- would help her out, usually by watching her while she worked.

She'd visit her uncle during the school year (only on holidays and weekends, obviously), but it was a lot more often during the summer. She really liked visiting. He was a fun guy, a lot like the father she never had. And she really loved getting away for a little while.

She loved her mom, but she just liked a break every now and then. Now, Lacy was a very active girl and loved fitness and sports. But her mom just _oozed_ those same qualities, and she always took her along for the ride. And sometimes it was just enough to be annoying.

Like school sports. When she started at the school, her mom had signed her up for the sports teams. ALL the sports teams. She'd done it and apparently expected her to be the same. Lacy still worried whether or not she'd disappointed her by telling her she just wanted to play soccer. And now that she was on the team, her mom was pushing her to try and become the captain. She was content where she was, and she knew the current captain was a really nice girl; she didn't want to usurp her.

And food. Her mom an amazing cook when it came to healthy meals. But that was all she made. As much as she loved the idea of staying healthy and growing big and strong (big meaning tall), she really longed for some variety. They'd pig out every now and then- her mom loved subs and Lacy loved cheeseburgers-, but it didn't happen often, and they made sure to work it off the next day.

And of course, like any parent, she embarrassed her. Lacy understood it better since she attended the classes, but her mother's outgoing enthusiastic attitude did not really fit in the school, or with most company even. She knew people laughed about it because they thought it was stupid. At least the jokes after the time her mom ended up flooding the women's staff bathroom didn't last long. She still had friends, and some people took a curiosity in her (she was related to a famous scientist and a famous Rockstar even if she didn't know them that well), but she knew there was people that made fun of both of them. It made her blood boil some days.

Her uncle was always a relief from all that. They could play sports, but she didn't feel like she was practicing for anything or trying to prove her abilities. She could act freely. And he always had tasty food. His calm demeanor was relaxing. It was like a prolonged bench break, always leaving her ready to get back to things with more energy. She was always excited to visit.

And this time she had two of her cousins to hang out with. Aside from her uncle, the only other family she regularly saw was her Aunt Luan and cousin Liby, usually only on birthdays and holidays. Lyra and Lemy though, they came to visit a bit more often. They'd visited at the start of the year, actually. Usually they'd come to stay at their apartment for a week or two, but now they were staying with their collective uncle.

Lyra's attitude and the way she looked at people reminded her a lot of some of the older girls she saw at school, just not as snobbish. She didn't poke fun at people either. But she looked like she could. She'd told Lacy off before for roughhousing with her brother. And she talked about her religion a lot. Lacy's mom had told her, sternly, to not pay attention to anything she said about that. She wasn't sure why.

Lemy was a lot more fun. She liked playing against boys and proving she was stronger despite her size. Mom was pretty strong, but the victory tasted so much sweeter when it was over someone who looked the part. It made her feel significant. No boys she knew were up to it though. But Lemy would always play along, although she might have to prod him a little at first. It was a lot of fun. Some of the music he listened too was really good for getting pumped up too.

They seemed like normal kids despite having a rich and famous mom. The two were a little weird from how they were complete opposites but got along. And they both always shared a bed for some reason. Still, Lacy felt kind of jealous seeing them and wondered what it'd be like if she could have a sibling. An older one to annoy or a younger one to take care of. Either appealed.

She was excited to see them. It had been a surprise on Monday when mom had called about staying. She'd watched her mom smile and ask him about her staying the night, then her smile drop. "What do you mean they're staying over?!" She'd demanded, getting up from the table and heading towards her room. Lacy had had no idea what was going on. Her mom had eventually come back out and told her that her cousins were already staying at her uncle's, and she worried for a moment she wouldn't be able to visit. But her mother had assured her he was fine having all three of them over.

And here they were now. The whole trip by foot had taken just over half an hour, their best yet. Lacy was going through a growth spurt and she was really appreciating the extra muscle mass and longer legs, even if it was still slight. But it was the little edges that mattered. They entered the apartment and bounded up the steps to Lincoln's unit. Lacy reached it first and excitedly pounded on the door.

It took over a minute, so they must've woken him up. Again. When they heard the locks being undone, Lacy braced herself and shared a predatory grin with her mother. The door opened and there stood her uncle in shorts and a t-shirt, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

With a war cry, Lacy bounded forward and slipped behind him. In an instance she jumped up and grabbed his shoulders. She effortlessly pulled herself up and wrapped her legs around his neck, tight enough to keep herself in place on his shoulders but not actually hurt him. "I'm king of the hill!" She declared, pumping her arms.

"You've bested me, your highness!" They'd played these games enough that even half asleep he could play along. She laughed while he knelt down so she could climb off. "Oof. You're getting too big for that." He stood back up.

"Oh, just give me a few years." Her mom came in. "She'll be unstoppable." She socked her brother on the arm. That was how they greeted each other. Mom said they'd rough housed a lot when they were kids and they still did it now.

It'd even been the first thing she'd seen them do. She remembered when she'd met her uncle when she was 8. He'd just moved back into town and had come to pay a surprise visit. Mom hadn't recognized him at first; Lacy was pretty sure she'd mistaken him for someone else, because she'd immediately grabbed a bat and raised it to swing. She'd put it down once she recognized him and he'd opened his arms for a hug. Mom made like she was going to return it then gave him a surprise gut punch. Not only had he dodged most of it, but once he stopped wheezing he'd started laughing.

They were weird like that.

"I can hardly wait." Her uncle rubbed the impact point before returning the jab with much less force.

All the noise they'd made had to wake up the neighbors. It definitely woke up the other people in the house, since the bedroom door opened and Lyra and Lemy stepped into the hallway in their sleeping clothes. Her mom smirked and went to greet them.

"Lincoln said you guys were here. Haven't been keeping up with those routines I gave you, huh?" She stopped in front of them. A moment passed, then two, and after a third Lacy watched her mother tilt her head back ever so slightly to meet the eyes of Lyra in front of her.

Lacy bounded up to in front of Lemy, making him lean back cautiously. She put a flat hand on the top of her head and swept it out, grinning with satisfaction when it sailed over her head and barely brushed his poofy hair. She was taller than him! Finally!

Her cousin just swatted her hand away.

"It's nice to see you both again." Lyra greeted. She'd usually go in for a hug when she said that, but this time she just eyed their sweaty forms.

"Hey." Lemy raised his hand up halfway. Lacy's mom walked back into the living room and started stretching off the run they'd just finished. Lacy joined her.

"Why are you all sleeping in this late, anyway?" Mom asked.

"Late?" Lincoln looked at a clock on his desk. "It's still early." Mom laughed.

"If you're slow. Huh!" She faked a lunge forward, causing her brother to flinch. That made her laugh.

"I guess I'm just slow then." Her uncle shrugged. "You want any coffee?" He asked as he passed her into the kitchen.

"Nah, I pumped up enough." She declined. Lacy glanced back into the hall to see her cousins had gone back into their room. Lyra crossed the hall to the bathroom with an armful of clothes and Lemy followed a moment later to wait outside the door. "Hurry it up, Lincoln, we got stuff to do."

That was another thing about their visits- mom didn't just drop her off and leave. Lincoln would drive them around to do boring adult stuff like bills and shopping, drop mom of at home and grab Lacy's overnight stuff, THEN the visit would start. Lacy had gone with them for the longest time, although the last few visits she'd been trusted to stay in the apartment by herself. She liked that, since her uncle let her on his computer; they didn't have one at their apartment.

"Nothing's even open yet!" He called from the kitchen.

"We can stop by the apartment for a little while. I need to hit the showers and change and you can grab Lacy's stuff."

"I could've come and picked you guys up." He said as he came back into the living room with a cup of coffee. He'd made that offer plenty of times before, and mom's response was always the same.

"And make us miss a run? Ha!" Not wanting to listen to their back and forth and feeling the effects of the half bottle of water she'd drunk on the run over, Lacy went into the hallway and stood behind Lemy. He glanced over his shoulder at her and moved up a little bit.

"How's it going?"

"Fine." He muttered. She'd learned from the visits before he didn't like to talk much. A 'tough guy act', her mom called it.

"How long are you guys staying?"

"Mom's going to pick us up in August." He answered.

"August?" Lacy repeated. They got to spend over a month with him? Lacy only ever got to stay three days max!

"Yeah. We've already been here about a week." He responded. His sister exited the bathroom at that moment and he went in. Lacy followed Lyra into the bedroom and flopped down on the bed while her cousin stored her pajamas.

"Hey."

"Hello." She sat down next to her. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good. Passed my grade at school. We didn't get the championship though." Lacy admitted glumly. They'd gotten to the semifinals but lost it by half a dozen points. Lacy had thought her mom was going to faint when it happened. She'd promised her they'd work over the summer and next year they'd blow the competition out of the water. And work they certainly had.

"Sorry to hear that." Lyra offered. "Anything else been going on?"

"Just puberty." Lacy rolled her eyes. She'd turned 12 back in March, and that had blown the starting whistle for a lot of stuff. The growth spurt was still the only one she liked. That got her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"I noticed you've gotten taller." Lacy had to beam at that. "It gets easier."

"I hope." Lacy said. Lemy came back in in a new set of clothes just then and unceremoniously tossed the dirty ones on top of his bag.

"I'll be right back." Lacy headed for the bathroom, and heard her mom coming down the hallway. The race that immediately broke out ended with her mom reaching it first.

"Too slow!" The door closed before Lacy could even get a foot in to contest.

"Moooom." She whined. Her uncle laughed as he passed her.

"You'll get her one day." He assured her. Lyra looked up as he entered the bedroom. "Lyra?"

"Yes?" Both her and Lemy looked at him.

"I'll have to take Lynn and take care of a few things in a little while. We'll be gone for maybe two hours."

"We'll be fine." Lyra assured him. "Is Lacy staying here too?"

"Yeah." Her uncle glanced back at her. "I'm making you guys something to eat before we go."

"All yours, champ." Her mom patted her on the shoulder when she exited. Lacy returned a back pat and went in before anyone else could steal it. When she came back out, Lyra was still in the bedroom but everyone else had moved into the rest of the apartment. Her uncle and mom were in the kitchen and by the sound of it Lemy was in the living room.

"So how's your mom doing?" Lacy asked as she sat back down on the bed. She saw her Aunt Luna on tv a lot, but she'd only met her once. It was obvious her and mom were sisters- they acted a lot alike. 'Eccentric' was a word she'd learned in school that she liked. Being related to a famous person was dull overall though. The only thing it did was make people ask her if they really were related.

"She's fine. How is yours?" She got a short answer and a question.

"Same as always." Lacy groaned. They didn't like her mother's constant enthusiasm either. "Hey, so how come you guys are staying with Uncle Lincoln for so long?" She asked. Her cousin was quiet for a few moments.

"I'm not sure. This is the first time we've ever met him. It might just be so we can get to know him. Or just because mom is busy with work." She added, almost begrudgingly. Lacy nodded; it made sense.

"You guys are lucky, he's-"

"Breakfast is ready!" The call came down the hallway. Lacy stopped what she was going to say and darted to the kitchen, beating her cousins who followed at a slower pace. Breakfast at their house was fruits, bagels, and cereal- bland but healthy. Her uncle always had tasty stuff that was more like snacks than a full meal, like chocolate toaster pastries or honey buns; stuff you could eat quickly or on the go. But it was so tasty!

None of that today though. He'd cooked a large breakfast of pancakes, and with a whole lot of syrup.

Lacy jumped into her seat and got a plate. Her cousins joined shortly after and the three ate while their uncle stood by the counter with his own. Even mom took a small helping for herself. Just a small one though.

"Now are you ready to go?" Lynn pestered her brother again.

"It's still only 8. If we leave now, we're going to end up waiting outside till they open. Again." Lincoln ate deliberately slow.

"They open at 9. We leave now we can be first in the door." That was her mother- always rushing and taking things head on to deal with them quickly. It was a good attitude when you wanted to get a problem out of the way instead of letting it hang over you. But, again Lacy thought, the rest of the world didn't always comply to it.

"Why don't you check on the computer to make sure that's what time." He suggested. Lacy's mother rolled her eyes and went to do just that. While she did, her uncle piled some seconds onto Lacy's plate and winked. Her cousins looked amused at that but turned down the same offer of seconds.

"They do open at 9! Told you!" Her mother's triumphet voice reached them by the time Lacy had finished the second helping.

"Fine, let's get going." Her uncle feigned resignation and went into the bedroom to change.

"Lacy!" Her mom poked her head into the kitchen. "Come say goodbye." She took her plate to the sink before going out into the living room.

"See you tomorrow." She hugged her mom.

"Have fun, sweetie." Her mom picked her up and lifted her so they could hug at eye level. Her feet dangled closer to the ground then they ever had before.

"I will mom." She set her back down.

"Let's go, Linc!" She called. He emerged from the hallway dressed and ready. Lemy and Lyra came to see them off too.

"Alright, alright." He went over to his desk and grabbed a few items including his keys and a thick envelope before going to join his sister by the door. He apparently thought of something and stopped to turn at Lyra. "Do you have a phone?" She shook her head. He took his out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Just in case there's an emergency. Call Lynn if you need to talk to me."

"Understood." She nodded.

"We won't take long." He told them. By this point, mom was getting impatient and grabbed his arm. "Alright, alright, Lynn! I'm coming!" The door closed behind the adults and left the two kids and teenager by themselves.

Lemy went back to the video games and Lyra went back into the bedroom. Lacy sat down beside her male cousin and watched him play for a bit. Lyra came out a few seconds later with a book and sat down at the end of the couch. Lacy turned to Lemy.

"Some of the games are two player and he has an extra controller." Lacy told him. She'd played a few times with her uncle; he'd even gotten a few sports games they could play together. It was good fun, even if he'd go easy on her at first. After a few curbstomps though, he'd let off and they could get into some serious competition. Virtual or real, she wasn't a pushover in any sport.

"Yeah, and?" He asked, he looked over at her. She watched his eyes flicker to where his sister was, suddenly looking a little uneasy

"I bet I can beat you in most of them."

"Pfft." He blew her off and turned back to the screen. "Yeah, right."

"You wanna bet?" She bounded to the tv and grabbed the second controller before coming back. Her cousin mulled over for a second before getting an overconfident smirk on his face.

"Fine. But I'm really good at video games. Don't cry when I beat you."

"You're on!"


	6. Chapter 6

Well, this chapter was difficult to write, so I sincerely hope you all enjoy it. 6,000 plus views and 80 subscriptions as of this posting. I'm still truly amazed. Thank you every one of you.

Keep your eyes open in a few days- I'll be posting something else. Not the next chapter or a new story, but something.

Onto the story

Okay, Lacy had to admit: Lemy was _good_. On par if not better than their uncle. The fighting game she won the first match with only a sliver of health. On football, the game ended up in overtime with 0 points on both sides. The street racing game was neck and neck till the cops busted them. Seven different games in, they lost count of the score but it was possibly close to even between them.

And the going got a little dirty after the first couple of minutes. Holding out their controllers so it blocked the others view, an elbow jerk here and there, and Lacy making a sudden loud noise to make him jump. Lyra sat beside them this entire time, watching but not commenting. She was nice and great to talk to, and Lacy talked to her about things she wouldn't even talk about with her mom, but she could be pretty boring otherwise.

The competition ended without climax when their uncle returned over an hour later, setting Lacy's overnight bag by the door before walking across the small living room to flop down at his desk. Lacy immediately dropped the controller and darted to the computer chair, her momentum giving her a few spins before it settled.

"Welcome back!"

"Hey Lacy." He yawned.

"Pfft, mom wore you out after _one_ hour?" He grinned wearily and shrugged. "Weak."

"You're used to her. You got an unfair advantage." Her uncle retorted.

"Weak." Lacy repeated, using her feet to propel herself into a few more spins. Her uncle sighed in defeat.

"So how's your summer going?" He asked. The last time she'd visited had been the first weekend after school got out.

"Good." Lacy used her feet to stop her spin. "Kind of boring. A lot of my friends went on trips with their families." She envied them for that. She even envied her three cousins (she'd met Liena once when her and Leni came to town to visit). They got to go places. She'd never left this town.

"You've been having fun though, right?" He leaned forward. Like her, he probably remembered last summer when Lacy wanted desperately to go to a sports camp like some of her friends were. It was Michigan; they had dozens. But no matter how much she pleaded or tried to earn by her own means, they just couldn't afford it. She'd been pretty let down the entire summer, but her mom and her uncle had tried their hardest to make her feel better.

"Yeah." She shrugged. "Mom's been keeping me busy." Her mom's training session weren't fun, per say. But they were satisfying.

"She's not pushing you too hard?"

"Nah." Lacy shook her head. Actually, Lacy was starting to think she was pushing her mom. Keeping up with her was easy. She might even surpass her someday soon.

"Hmm." Her uncle held a drawing pen to his chin. "Well, we can do something fun while you're here."

"Yeah!" She gave herself a good spin the chair. She'd done it a million times before, but she hadn't been as big then. She squealed as the chair began to lean and then start to tip. With surprisingly good reflexes, Lincoln dived and caught her so she didn't faceplant on the floor. "Woo!" Lacy stuck her arms out as the computer chair clattered to the floor.

"Are you two okay?" Lyra had jumped up and come over.

"Never better." Their uncle groaned. He stood up and set Lacy in the chair as Lyra picked it back up. Lacy knew he was doing it mostly for dramatic effect; she'd seen him go toe to toe with mom when they fooled around. He was tougher than he looked.

"Ha." Lacy slumped back in the chair, feeling dizzy. Lyra hovered over both of them for a few more moments before going back to the couch. Lemy had watched the whole thing without saying anything.

"Right…" Their uncle tried to collect his thoughts before turning to Lyra and Lemy. "You guys bring bathing suits with you?" Lacy perked up.

"They should be in our bags." Lyra told him. He nodded.

"While we were out we noticed the Royal Woods Pool had half-off admission the first day of July. Thought we could all go. Might even invite Luan and Liby." Swimming and seeing her cousin?

"Awesome!" Lacy voiced her approval.

"That'd be nice." Lyra concurred.

"Eh, why not?" Lemy shrugged.

"But that's in a few days. For today." He leaned forward and smiled. "What do you want to do?" He asked his younger niece.

"Hmm." She leaned back but didn't risk another spin. Then leaned forward. "Can we go to that arcade place again?" She asked. Okay, so maybe she did have an interest in games. The physical ones like hoops, skee-ball, or strength testers. But the place was a pizzeria and snack bar too. They had these cheeseburgers that tasted amazing, even if they were probably only popped out of a freezer and put in a microwave for 50 seconds.

Yes, Lacy thought about food a lot. She was a growing girl, after all.

"Gus' Game and Grub?" Her uncle guessed. Lacy nodded and she saw him think.

"Hmm…Let me check something on the computer first and we'll see." He motioned for her to get up. She did and flopped down on the couch between her cousins.

"How about I get a few more wins in?" She picked the second controller back up.

"You weren't winning in the first place." Lemy retorted.

"Even if I wasn't, I can still pull right on ahead."

"Yeah right." And just like that, they were back at it. Lacy would glance over at her uncle every once and while, but her attention was mostly on the game. He was on the computer for a few minutes, then looking through a book on his desk. He was rummaging through stuff at his desk for several minutes while his nephew and niece gamed.

Finally, he turned back around to face them all. By then, the it was 3-2 in Lemy's favor, although both would argue about who was leading beforehand. "Ok then." He clapped his hands together. "Gus' Game and Grub it is." And just like that, the competition was forgotten.

"Woo!" Lacy jumped up. "Let's go, c'mon!"

Later that day

One thing about visiting family infrequently was that Lyra could pick up changes that occurred between visits. That's how she'd noticed Loan developing a twitch, or how some of her cousins' appearances were drastically changing as they grew up. But personality shifts were the thing she watched for the most.

So she noticed rather quickly Lacy was a little different than normal. Normally, her cousin was a very energetic and always moving, kind of like how their Aunt Luan was always talking. Loud, brash, and a bit crude and indecent like her mother. And the girl who'd barged in on them early in the morning had definitely been that same Lacy.

She did have a calmer side though, as Lyra had discovered recently (recently being the last 2 or 3 visits). A side where she wasn't bouncing everywhere and saying everything in an outdoor voice, and that was only around her. Not Lemy and certainly not her mom.

Lyra had thought at first it was just respect, as she'd called out the younger girl a number of times for her behavior. But in the few instances they were alone, and they'd got to talking Lacy would talk about some personal things. Like the last they'd visited; she talked about trouble with friends at school. There was a softer side to the sporty pre-teen, but she only showed it rarely.

When she wasn't around her mother, in other words. There were just some things Lacy wasn't apparently comfortable about discussing with her mother for whatever reason and turned to her cousin instead.

Lyra admittedly had a lower opinion of her sport enthusiast aunt now. The amount of disrespect she'd seen that morning was appalling. It reinforced the assumption she'd made when her uncle had mentioned he watched his nieces to give their mothers a day to themselves- they were using him, shouldering responsibilities that should be theirs onto him because they couldn't deal with their own mistakes.

It might've been naivety on Lincoln's part, or just love for family. That unwavering bond that never breaks. He might put up with it for the same reason Lyra put up with her mother. Or maybe he took pity on Lacy and tried (successfully from what she could see) to fill a role someone else had shirked. From the way he treated her, Lyra was almost sure of that fact.

Besides, considering the shortcomings she'd observed in her aunts, her cousins could benefit from an occasional stint away from them, much like her and her brother benefitted from getting away from theirs. How wrong it seemed that the best for a child was to be away from their parent. But if that was the situation that need be, their uncle was a very modest man.

Were Liby and Lupa the same way, she wondered?

Lyra only remembered this because seeing Lacy interact with their uncle reminded her of it. At the apartment and through the entire care ride they'd been talking, almost exclusively Lacy. She'd asked her uncle how he'd been doing, but he'd reflected the conversation back within a few sentences. Her voice was softer, her energy seemed to be more from childish joy than adrenaline.

They got along surprisingly well. Lacy saw him the same way she apparently saw Lyra herself, or maybe even more than that- the very thing her mom hoped her brother would pretend to be. Lyra was pretty sure he'd said more to Lacy that day then he'd spoke to them their time there thus far. She supposed that was understandable; they saw each other more often. There was still that air of awkwardness between her and her brother and their uncle. A lot of the things they said to each other were still procedure, like what was for dinner. Not his fault, since he had to work.

She had overheard him taking breaks and talking to Lemy about video games a few times, though.

Her brother was currently enjoying the skee-ball machines. A bit further away, Lincoln and Lacy were at one of the dance machines. For a man who sat in a chair all day, he was surprisingly nimble. He was keeping up well with his niece. It was quite the amusing sight.

Lyra was still at their table. She had no interest in any of the games. She'd told her uncle to give the change he'd scrounged up for her to Lemy. Before that, she'd tried to tell him their mom had already given them money before they left they could use, but he was adamant. So instead she was sitting at the table they'd claimed, guarding unfinished food and several sodas so their owners could one day finish them and occasionally watching the others through the crowd.

"Hi there." She looked up from a passage from the New Testament to see a boy about her age standing at the end of the table.

"Hello. Can I help you?" Lyra asked politely.

"I just uh…noticed you were sitting by yourself." The boy explained.

Ahhh…

"I'm here with family." She explained.

"Same." The boy nodded. "You think they'd have a section for adults or something so they didn't have to listen to the noise." Years of noisy highways and thin walled hotels had given Lyra good ability to block out noise, but she nodded all the same.

"It's not so bad if people are having fun."

"Yeah, I uh…guess it is." He agreed.

He opened his mouth again but the very brief conversation was cut short as Lemy rudely walked in between them and took a seat without a word and began eating some of the leftover food. Lyra was sitting inside of the table. Lemy sat on the outside, planting himself in the middle of the two conservation goers. Then Lacy showed up and slid into the inside seat of the other side of the table. Any hope for salvaging the conversation died at that point and the other teen left.

"Who was that?" Lacy asked slyly.

"I didn't get their name. It's not really important." Lyra dismissed the matter and returned to what she'd been reading. She was aware of her younger cousin still grinning at her and Lyra looked up briefly with a no-nonsense stare which made Lacy direct her eyes elsewhere.

"Fresh drinks." Their uncle returned with soda refills and sat down next to Lacy. She sucked her down in one gulp and started pestering Lemy about the dance machine she'd been at with their uncle.

"Dancing is stupid." He tried to blow her off.

"Even up on the concert stage?" She taunted.

"That is NOT dancing." Lemy argued. "That's rocking."

"Same thing." Lacy shrugged, stood up in her seat, easily leaped over her uncle's lap, and walked off. Lemy fumed before starting to rise from his seat.

"Don't get into a fight." His sister warned him. He flinched, stared at his retreating cousin, and then went after her. Her uncle seemed amused.

"You know, I think your mom had the exact same argument with someone else."

"As long as neither get into a fight over it." Lyra watched they continue their verbal spar at the dance machine before it became apparent Lacy had made him cave and agree to compete against her. The sight was amusing and she smiled a bit before turning back around.

"So, who was that you were talking to?" Lincoln repeated the same question Lacy had asked, although in a more neutral tone. She didn't even realize he'd noticed.

"I don't know. Someone trying to be friendly."

"You're popular with boys?" He inquired. Lyra huffed a little internally at the personal question.

"No. We don't interact with other kids very often. We're always traveling, and we get home schooled."

"Ah." He acknowledged. "We were all homeschooled once. Didn't work out." He admitted.

"I think mom mentioned that before, actually." Lyra nodded. Handling their homeschooling was easily one of the most competent things she did in raising her kids, if not the most. "I'm good at it." She had just about the highest marks one could get on them. The boredom helped. "Lemy passes his, at least." More often then not he only worked when he was being stared at. Lyra had scared him once by warning him they'd have to go live somewhere away from mom and go to a regular school if he failed. He'd gotten so upset though, she'd vowed to never use that tactic again.

"So…" Her uncle went on. "Do you guys travel a lot on the road with your mom?"

"Always." Lyra repeated. "Mom doesn't own a house or anything. We went with her for years after she started touring. Only a few years did she start sending us to stay with family." He looked surprised at that, and a little sad.

"That sounds rough." He said.

"Sometimes." Lyra admitted. "But I guess it has its advantages. We've seen a lot of sights. We've even gone to Europe." How many kids their age could say that?

"Sounds nice." Lincoln mused. "Only foreign place I've gone is Mexico."

"Oh?" Lyra inquired. There was silence until he realized she was waiting for him to elaborate.

"Oh-well…Just a short vacation." He explained. Silence for a moment. "Do you guys visit your Aunt Lori, often?" He asked.

"More than the others." Lyra answered.

"How is she?"

"She's very busy. A hard worker like you."

"Oh, what does she do?" He asked.

"She's a firm manager."

"That sounds impressive. How long has she been doing that?" Her uncle asked.

"She says six years." When Lyra answered, she could see embarrassment spreading across her his face. "You guys don't keep in contact?" She guessed.

"No." He admitted sheepishly. "After Lori moved to the city with Loan and Bobby, she kind of dropped off the radar with most of us. I'm surprised Luna's still talks to her so often. That's the sad part about growing up; you don't get to talk to family as much. Everyone has their own life and before you know it you haven't seen them in over a year.

"Must be hard for how close you all were." Lyra said sympathetically.

"That's growing up." He repeated. "We're doing what we love and wanted to though, so it's not all bad." He paused for a moment. "How are Loan and Bobby?"

"Uncle Bobby's a very humble and hard worker too. Runs his own store. Very friendly. We like him. Loan is…" Lyra wasn't sure how to describe her slightly younger cousin in a good light. "She's figuring things out for herself."

"I haven't seen her since she was a baby." Her uncle mused. "But if she's like her mother, that won't be any trouble." It was pretty clear to Lyra Loan took more after her father, but she didn't say that.

"What about you?" He asked. "You have things figured out?"

"Figured out?" Lyra repeated.

"Any ambitions or plans? Most of us already knew what we were going to do when we were about your age."

"Ah…no." She was caught off guard by the question. Even though she was 3 years away from adulthood, 2 years and a few months, actually, she hadn't given much thought to what she'd do when she got there. Living was a day to day concern. Whenever she did start to think about it, she'd get hung up on the fact leaving and doing anything would mean having to leave Lemy in the sole care of their mom.

"Well, nothing to worry about. You got time." He told her. Lyra couldn't think of a vocal response, so she just nodded. It was then that Lemy and Lacy came back, the former sweating as he collapsed into his seat.

"Weak." Lacy taunted. She turned to her uncle. "Round 2?" He shrugged and let her drag him off.

"I hate her." Lemy muttered as he reached for his soda.

"Hush." He didn't really mean that. Luckily for him, their uncle kept the hyperactive pre-teen occupied for the rest of the visit. Lemy recovered enough energy to go back to his games and the two enjoyed themselves for another two hours before their uncle called out that it was about time they head back. Even Lacy was tuckered out enough by then neither complained.

They got home and Lacy claimed the shower while their uncle started on a slightly early dinner. Before it was done, Lyra made Lemy at least take brief shower after Lacy finished. With only three chairs in the kitchen, their uncle elected to eat his at his desk. Lacy dug into hers immediately, earning a disapproving luck from her older cousin. Lemy at least had the manners to wait till his sister said grace to start eating.

It was forgiven though, and they had the rest of the evening to relax. Lyra noticed Lacy spent the near entirety of it by their uncle's side.

That Night

Tired wasn't an expression Lacy used often. She could spend a day running a marathon and come bed time still be wired. But by the end of a day visiting, she was pooped whether or not they'd done anything. It was weird, but she wasn't going to complain. She felt great, content, relaxed in a rare way.

"That was fun, wasn't it?" She asked her cousins. Lyra and Lemy were brushing their teeth at the bathroom sink while she stood in the doorway. It was barely big enough for two people, let alone three, so she waited. They'd all changed into pajamas, or at least a t-shirt and shorts to sleep in in Lemy's case. At Lacy's house it was early to bed early to rise. Her uncle let her go to bed whenever she was tired, which was rare. Lyra gave them a bed time, but it was later than what she would've got at home. Her uncle had given her a sleeping bag so she could sleep in his room while he slept on the couch.

"As long as you two enjoyed yourselves." Lyra said while Lemy gargled something incoherent. The boy finished his rush job and left, finally giving Lacy a space to do her brushing. She started watering her brush.

"You look tired." Even her cousin noticed.

"Yeah, well, today was awesome." Lacy yawned. "I told you Uncle Lincoln is awesome."

"You two get along well."

"Yeah. He's really great." Lacy repeated, somewhat dreamily. "I really wish I could visit him more. I'm so glad he's around. It makes me feel…" She suddenly realized she was running her mouth about her happiness and that her cousin was looking at her in the mirror. Her face went scarlet and she shut up, but her condition wasn't missed.

"Something wrong?"

"Nothing." Lacy said, suddenly defensive. But there was something, something that had been on her mind for quite a while. Something that bugged her that she hadn't shared with anyone ever before. And she'd almost let it slip, just like she almost had at school once or twice.

"Okay." Lyra didn't press her like Lacy expected, and her guard dropped slightly. The older girl stored her toothbrush and prepared to leave. Lacy suddenly had a change of heart. Her cousin was good for talking to about things that bugged her. This was bigger than any usual issue though. Could she trust her? Her will to resist dropped.

"Actually!" Lacy said, making her stop. "Can we talk? Just give me a minute."

"Of course." She waited against the wall while Lacy hurriedly brushed her teeth. "What is it?" She asked when she was done.

"Well…" Lacy wasn't sure how to begin.

"Are you guys almost done?" Lemy interjected from the hallway. Lacy suddenly got irritated.

"Private girl conversation!" She snapped, making him flinch. She slammed the door and locked it for good measure. Her agitation ebbed when she noticed Lyra looking at her less than pleased before turning to the door.

"Go to bed, Lemy. We'll be along shortly." She called before returning her gaze to Lacy. "Go on." The preteen was suddenly concerned she'd lost her chance and got tongue tied, her mouth dry. She looked at that stern expression and lost all her nerve. Lyra seemed to realize and softened it. "Go on." She said, gently. She gathered herself and finally spoke.

"I…don't have a dad." Lacy wasn't admitting that, she knew that and so did Lyra, just like Lacy knew they didn't either. The teen's gaze softened further, and she moved over to sit down on the edge of the bathtub. "And I keep noticing it. My friends talk about what their dads got them…My teammates get congratulated by both their parents. I just have my mom." As much as she hated herself for it, Lacy realized she was jealous of them.

She'd tried not to pay attention to it for the longest time, even before she started getting jealous. She remembered asking some time around being in kindergarten, and her mom didn't answer and told her not to ask about it again. Liby didn't have a dad. Once she met Lyra and Lemy she realized they didn't have a dad. It was normal but confusing once she learned the vague but truthful fact that it took two parents for there to be a child. Through the early grades she knew girls who'd had one parent die. Had that been it? When she asked, her mom told her to drop the subject, harsher than before, and left her still wondering and a little scared.

Lyra cut in. "You feel like you have two parents because of Uncle Lincoln?" She guessed, almost immediately. Lacy's face went a deeper shade of pink, along with a bit of white, and she looked away. Was it that obvious?

Okay, it was true. But could she be blamed? He was just like what she heard and expected one to be: he helped them keep food on the table and bills and all that kind of stuff. He bought Lacy things she wanted if he could. He talked to her and helped her with problems she had. He'd come to one of her games once and showed up with her mom to congratulate her when the team won and Lacy had teared up in joy. He did almost all the exact same things mom did, some of them even better. Sure, he wasn't there that often, but he visited them at their house sometimes, and they could call whenever they wanted.

Really, for something so great, could she be blamed for being a little attached?

"I…I know it sounds weird." She admitted. That was Lacy's fear. There was a pretty big gap between an uncle and father, she knew, pretty different from a step parent, something else she heard other kids talk about. Not just in how her and him was related, but him and her mom too. She thought over people would see it too if she ever mentioned it.

"I don't think so." Lyra shook her head, making Lacy look back up. The teen looked completely unphased, not at all what Lacy expected when she'd considered talking about this with another person. "I think it's to be expected and really for the better. To be honest, I kind of already thought it was the case."

"R-really?" She nodded again.

"I pretty sure that's our uncle's and your mom's intention." Lacy was in stupor by that. Never once did she think they _intended_ for that. "It's not something done very often, but family members can take over a role like that. I think he's trying, so it only makes sense you appreciate him for it." So...there was nothing wrong with it? Lacy did trust her cousin.

"…Wow." Lacy muttered, sitting down beside her. "I feel stupid." She said out loud. All that worrying and feeling weird and it turned out everything was fine. Her cousin patted her on the back.

"It's perfectly natural." She consoled. "It was God's intention for a child to have two parents." Ooookay, Lacy was starting to worry she'd go into religion. She was surprised there wasn't a story from the bible she could've quoted about the situation. "You know that and wanted to fix it or at least find something similar. Nothing wrong with that. Lemy and me did too."

Lacy was quiet for a bit and stared at the floor. She'd never expected something so big, something she'd thought about for most of her life, and something worrying enough to make her a little ill was so simple. It really gave her a new perspective.

"You guys do too?" She asked. Lyra nodded.

"Yes… But it's late." She deflected Lacy's curiosity. "We should go to bed. Just know you're not alone in how you feel. If you want to talk about it again, we can."

"…Thanks, Lyra." She leaned over and gave the other girl a hug and receive one in return.

"It's no problem." She assured her. "Let's get some sleep."


	7. Bonus Chapter

Chapter 6 was posted 2 days ago, so if you haven't seen that, click back to go read it; this is just a bonus chapter. So for a little context, I occasionally do very short story requests for Loud House threads on 4chan. They're mostly about the abominations, and I don't post them here on because the canon characters aren't usually involved.

Anyway, one of the requests I got was a story about Lemy and Luna. I decided to write it as taking place in the timeline of Family Matters, just a very small snippet in the characters' lives. And I'm posting it here now as a sorta bonus thing because A. I put effort into it and want to show it off and B. There's things in here readers with good eyes for detail and understanding of perceptions can gleam for the main story. Plus, not naming names, but there's a trend of Luna being portrayed as a bad parent I want to rebuke.

This is more likely than not a one-time thing.

Flashback

Outdoor music festivals were Luna Loud's least preferred place to tour. She'd been to plenty as a teen and they weren't anything to write home about. Playing at them was only slightly better. The security was worse, they always had to worry about the elements messing with the gear, and the audience seemed more interested in food and getting wasted then the music. In short, they were a drag.

Worst, they were usually during the day. That really limited the special effects they could use. She liked playing into the night and having fun the rest of it. But noooo, it was during the day. Which meant she had to be home to rest up while it was still evening. Bogus. And playing during the day meant she couldn't spend that time at home.

"Cheers." Luna gave the cabbie his fare and a decent tip as he dropped her off. The destination was neither her tour bus or a fancy hotel- it was a cheap motel a good couple of miles from the festival. Not exactly Rockstar booking, but she had her reasons: the usual leeches with cameras wouldn't think of looking here, and even if they did the neighborhood was rough enough they wouldn't want to hang around waiting for a shot at her. She didn't mind them getting a shot of her, she just didn't want them getting a shot of Lyra and Lemy.

Luna was disappointed to realize the hotel room was dark when she opened the door. They must already be in bed. It was barely pass ten and she'd told them she'd be back early. She'd kind of hoped they'd stay up and wait for her.

Yeah, they were in one of the two beds; She could see them outlined in the darkness curled up together. They'd always slept together, ever since Lemy was big enough to not need a crib anymore and had just never broken the habit. Luna remembered when it'd been all three of them- her in the middle and each of her children sleeping on either side. But that was back when her career was just evening recording sessions in the studio. Now she was out playing live shows most nights, but at least she wasn't gone during the day. Usually.

Had that really been so long ago? It's a long way to top (if you want to rock n roll) but it didn't feel like it'd been years since that.

She tossed her bag on the bed and headed for the bathroom at the back of the room. That was another thing she hated about music festivals: porta-loos. Was in one years ago when it got knocked over, she'd been. Never risking that again.

While that wasn't a risk, she did get spooked when she finished and opened the door to discover someone standing right there.

"Bloody hell!" Luna stepped back, lost her footing, and fell into the bathtub.

"Mom?" Lemy asked anxiously.

"I'm fine, luv!" She put a hand over her hammering heart. "Outdid your Aunt Lucy, you did." She put her arms on the edge of the tub and pushed herself up. He grabbed her hand and tried to help. "What were you doing there?" He got a little red in the face.

"I was waiting for you… I saw you come in." Luna smiled and tussled his hair.

"Just don't give your mum a heart attack." She walked back into the room and sat on her bed, leaning back to switch on the lamp on the table between the beds. Despite that light and the noise they'd been making, Lyra was still asleep. Being a heavy sleeper ran in the genes, she guessed. She'd always been able to count on her to enforce bed time. A responsible girl, for sure, definitely like neither of her parents at that age.

Lemy sat down on the bed next to her. Since she was in a nostalgia trip, Luna remembered back when any time she sat down he'd hop in her lap. Ah, but he was too big for that now. He'd be nine in December.

Nine? Wow, maybe it had been a long time.

"How was your day?" He asked. Her day? Well, one band got taken out of the line up because one of their members had a bad batch of heroin and got carted off in an ambulance, meaning their slot came up before they were completely ready. The air had smelled horrible. And some people had been throwing stuff at the performers all day, just to be cocks.

"Lovely fun." She answered. So maybe the crowd was total piss. Her and Sam and the rest of the band still had a blast playing up there. "But a little advice for when you make it big: don't play at outdoor festivals."

"Got it." He took every bit of advice she gave him in stride. Even at his age he was an enamored with rock as she'd been when she was a teen. Already practicing guitar too. Still had trouble finding a groove, but she had hope for her son. Hell, even her playing had been bad enough to peel paint from the walls at one point.

His sister had never had a musical phase, and Luna had watched intently for one. Strange for a girl who was conceived at a concert (probably). But she had her own thing and Luna let her run with it. Hey, no one interfered with each other's hobbies back home. You do you and I'll do me philosophy. But she sure as hell was going to be enthused if she had a kid interested in the same hobby.

Sucks that it was late, she thought. They could've got some practice in. What to bloody do then? Too late to practice or go out.

"Bollocks." Luna muttered as she laid back with her eyes closed. Her son did the same thing.

"Something wrong, mom?" He asked.

"Sorry, it's too late to do anything."

"It's okay. I'm just glad to see you." Luna cracked an eye open and looked over. He was doing the same thing and tried to look back at the ceiling when he was discovered.

"You see me every day." She pointed out.

"I know. But…uhh…" Luna smiled.

"I hear you." She'd had parents that worked long hours to provide, not that she could explain that to her children. She knew what he meant. "You're pretty smart, little dude."

"I'm not little." Lemy pouted. Her son had started his Rockstar phase last year. Gone the full mile- denim, long, a bandana. He really got it right, although maybe her and Sam had helped him here and there. But with that, he was itching to get into the rock scene- the parties and concerts. He had a rockin' enthusiasm, but Luna drew the line there. The adult rock band scene wasn't for kids. With past experience, she knew they weren't for teenagers, either. She was going to rebuff it whenever he tried to insist he was mature.

Besides, she wanted to keep her little boy a little longer.

"Oh, you're a _big dude_ , huh?" Luna turned her head raised an eye brow. "My little man's growing up already?"

"Yeah!" He insisted, sitting up. Luna smirked and shot her hand up under his arm. Upon being tickled, her 'big dude' made a high pitched squeal and did a little spasm.

"Mom!" He snorted, trying to hold in a laugh and failing to not smile.

"Yeah, you're still my little dude." She sat up and raised her hands menacingly.

Looks there was a way to have fun this late.

He dived under the blankets to seek shelter. "Think you get away that easily?" She followed him under and the shelter suddenly became a prison as the attack continued.

"Oi, what do we 'ave here?" His t-shirt had got tangled and his belly was showing. Luna remembered something else that had always made him laugh when he was a baby. Lemy noticed too and by the panic in his eyes he knew what was coming. He tried to pull his shirt down but his mom was faster.

"Pbbbbbbbbbbt." She blew air on his belly. He shrieked even louder and started kicking his legs.

"Mom, stop!" He squealed. Luna was having too much fun to do so, and by the laughing so was Lemy. She didn't let up. The squealing and blanket kept either from hearing the other bed in the room creak.

WHACK! Something with weight was brought down on Luna's back. "Oof." A few more blows followed. Her son's shrieks of fun turned to terror as a few hit him. They flailed till Luna could pull the blanket off both of them. Lyra was standing by the bedside in her pajamas, wide eyed and chest heaving with her bible held above her head in preparation for another strike.

"Way harsh, dudette." Luna sat up, rubbing a spot on her head where it'd made contact. "You could've just spoke up if we were making too much noise." She noticed her daughters buggered appearance and smirked. "Or did we give you a fright? Monsters in the middle of the night?" Her daughter sat down on the other bed, her face going a noticeable shade of pink.

"Way to go, Lyra." Lemy rubbed his arm. Fortunately for him, his mom had taken most of the assault.

"It's late." Lyra found her voice. "What are you guys doing?"

"We were just having a bit of fun."

"Yeah, we _were_." Lemy repeated. Lyra reached across the gap and pulled him over to their bed so she could check him for bruises.

"It's not even that late." Luna went on. "I was surprised you guys were already asleep."

"It's called a curfew, mother." Lyra said. She sounded a lot like Lisa sometimes the way she'd state things to her mother. Responsible AND smart. Luna had really gotten lucky. Lemy tried to move back over to the other bed, but his sister stopped him.

"It's past your bedtime." Lyra told him sternly.

"I'm not tired." He complained.

"Bed." Lyra wasn't having any of it. She laid down and pulled him down beside her, keeping him a full hug with a hooked leg to keep him from getting back up. He couldn't break free so he just laid there looking peeved.

"We should all be getting some z's." Luna told him. That'd been fun, but she was tired herself. She didn't need to be messing up tomorrow. She gave him another hair tussle. Even though Lyra was already reaching for it, Luna grabbed the blanket and laid it over them. "Night, dudes."

"Night mom." Lemy gave up trying to wiggle out and accepted his fate.

"Good night." Lyra echoed after a few moments as Luna was crawling into bed. So she'd been gone for the day. That sucked. But she'd gotten to talk to them before she fell asleep that night. It made things just a little bit better.


	8. Chapter 8

Their awakening the day before had been rude. Today managed to be worst. The bedroom door flying open jerked all three of them from sleep, and aunt Lynn's booming voice dragged them away from any hope of returning to it. "Rise and shine!" She declared.

Beside Lyra, Lemy groaned. She blearily looked to the clock beside the bed to see if was just past 7. "Moooom." Lacy groaned from the floor. "Five more minutes." She pleaded.

"Oh no! We have the whole day ahead." She stopped and stared down at the floor where Lacy had laid her sleeping back the night before. The preteen made another noise of protest. In response Lynn leaned down. Lyra heard an 'eep!' of panic and when she stood back up, she had the sleeping bag propped on her shoulder. Lacy had zipped herself in in an attempt to save herself.

"Hey Lincoln!" Lynn called. "Can I use your shower?"

"No!" The sleeping bag started thrashing. "I'm up! I'm up!"

"That a girl!" Aunt Lynn set their cousin back down. "Ten minutes Lacy!" She called as she left the room.

"Ugh." Lacy grunted from the floor. Lemy had pulled a pillow over his head in an effort to get back to sleep. Since it was close enough to her usual time, Lyra got up anyway.

"Rough morning, Lacy?" Their uncle poked his head through the doorway, looking awake despite a serious case of bed head.

"I ate too much yesterday." The younger girl moaned.

"Uh huh." Lincoln nodded in understanding. He retrieved a t-shirt and some shorts from the dresser. "You guys can make your own breakfast." He went back into the hallway and met his sister when she came out of the bathroom. "Hey Lynn, how about a few laps around the block?" As soon as he said it, Lyra could see her aunt's eyes light up.

"You're on!" She darted from the hallway. Lincoln looked back and gave a thumbs up. Lacy returned one from the comfy confines of the sleeping bag before he closed the door and left them in silence.

"He's really good at dealing with Mom." Lacy yawned.

"I see." That had been slightly amusing. It wasn't till they could hear the front door slam shut that Lacy finally emerged from her sleeping bag and stretched.

"Are you staying up?"

"Yeah. I just want a few minutes before running." And then she got the same glint in her eyes her mom just had. "First!" She darted out of the bedroom and into the bathroom across the hall. Lyra smiled just a bit and decided to head to the kitchen for breakfast.

She elected for something simple- orange juice and some toaster pastries- and made enough for three. When Lacy was done in the bathroom, Lyra stopped in the bedroom to get a fresh pair of clothes. "I'm making breakfast." Her brother still had a pillow hugged over his head.

"Later." He said. She let him try to get back to sleep. By the time she was dressed and returned to the kitchen, Lacy had already eaten her portion…and most of what would've been Lemy's.

"Hey." She spoke through a mouthful of food. As Lyra sat down to eat, she noticed her cousin glancing over at her, a little red in the face.

"Is something the matter?"

"No, no." Lacy said quickly. "Uhh…Thanks again for last night." She mumbled.

"You're welcome." Lyra wasn't really surprised she'd been right about her assumption about her cousin- she thought she was a good reader of people. Lacy had just been doing what any child of a single parent was bound to do. The same thing Lemy and her had both done. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Did you ever feel awkward about it?" Lacy asked. "Not having a dad?"

"No. Not really." Lyra answered. Lacy's insecurity stemmed from seeing her peers with two parents. At the cost of social interaction, Lyra and Lemy had never had that issue. "Envy rots the bones. We're thankful for what we do have. You should be too."

"I'm not _jealous_." She huffed, although something about her insistence seemed false. "I just wonder what it'd be like. There's so many Daddy's Girls at school it's hard to not notice. Plus, I mean…" She blushed a little. "Mom told me WHY kids have a mother and father… cause of puberty. They gotta 'make one' and…ugh." She looked disgusted. "I was just thinking about it more."

"Hmm." Lyra nodded. So aunt Lynn had told her about 'the act'. Lyra wondered if she'd told her about abstinence and sanctity of marriage. Or if she'd be out of place if she told her cousin about it instead. She wasn't the kind to try and press the Word of God onto other people. At least not anymore; it'd been ineffectual on her mother and nearly pushed her brother away from her, so she'd stopped.

Another time, maybe. It wasn't a subject to discuss while eating.

"Do you think it might be weird if I tell him about it?" Lacy asked, keeping the conversation going. "You know, just saying 'thanks for trying?'? Lyra shook her head.

"No. I think he'd actually appreciate it." She didn't really doubt it anymore after yesterday- he really was trying to fill that role, at least to his three nieces here in town; Lyra wondered to herself what his view on Lemy and her was. "Like I said last night, he's probably trying to fulfill that role for you, Liby, and Lupa. Knowing he's succeeding could only put him in good spirits."

"Lupa?" Lacy asked. "Isn't that aunt Lucy's daughter?"

"…Yes." Lyra confirmed after a moment to compose herself. She didn't know that?

"Oh." Lacy started nodding. "Yeah, I met her once." She looked confused. "Does Uncle Lincoln watch her too? I thought they lived far away?" Far away? It was just the edge of town. Although neither Lacy or Lupa's mothers had a car, so maybe the distance was prohibitive.

Or maybe her hunch about her aunts being distant to each other was right too. If that was the case, she should steer this conversation elsewhere- she wouldn't want to get her cousin in trouble by making her question her mother about a difficult subject.

"He said he has." Lyra told her. "I don't know how often. But I think you should thank him." It'd be good for her to get off her chest. And let their uncle know he was appreciated, because Aunt Lynn certainly wasn't expressing it from what Lyra could see.

Speaking of the adults, they returned at that moment. Lincoln came through the door first, covered in sweat and breathing heavily. After a noticeable few seconds, so did Aunt Lynn. Lyra didn't think she'd ever seen the women looked so worn out. She was absolutely drenched and heaving.

"How far did you guys run?" Lacy asked as both stumbled into the kitchen to get water.

"Not…very far." Lincoln gasped as he chugged from a water bottle.

"It was…too…easy." Lynn's breathing steadied after she'd downed the entire bottle in one go. "Get dressed, Lacy. We have to go home." The 12-year-old decided there weren't going to be any more delays and got up, mouthing a 'thank you' at Lyra as she headed for the bedroom where her overnight bag was.

"I can drive you guys home." Lincoln offered his sister.

"Pfft." She waved him away. "Like you're gonna…" She stopped and her face got a little green. She darted over to the trashcan and vomited. Lincoln jumped back, and Lyra stayed seated; it was nothing new to her. "Ugggh. Alright." She conceded and stumbled into the living room.

"She's fine." Lyra's uncle told her. "She just overworks herself sometimes."

"I had no idea you could do better than her." Lyra was actually pretty impressed. He shrugged.

"I just have a longer stride and she was trying to keep up with me." He admitted modestly. He decided it was probably a good idea to take the trash out now and left. Breakfast done, Lyra walked back into the living room to see her aunt stretching. Despite her earlier action, she stayed enthused.

"I have to get you and your bro on a regimen." She told her. "Next time you drop by."

"Mhm." Lyra acknowledged. She didn't really want to discuss the subject, so she headed back into the bedroom just as Lacy was going to the bathroom to change. Lemy was laying there, staring up at the ceiling annoyed. "You should tell them goodbye."

"Can I go back to bed after they leave?"

"If you want." That was enough for him. He tossed off the blanket and got up. Lyra followed so they could see them off together. She just managed to avoid shuddering when her sweaty aunt hugged her goodbye. Lemy wasn't as tactful, but their aunt obviously found it more funny than offensive. From Lacy, Lyra got a hug and Lemy a knock on the shoulder. With promises from both mother and daughter to 'dominate' the two at the upcoming pool visit, the pair left with their uncle to go home. It was just after 7:30.

"Glad she's gone." Lemy muttered.

"Hush." She thought he might still be grouchy about last night. She didn't blame him, since Lacy had been pretty rude to snap at him. "Lacy knows what she did was wrong." Lemy didn't look like he cared and went back to bed. She decided to let it slide.

She decided to watch T.V, a look at the guide a few days previous had told her there was a few religious channels included in whatever cable package her uncle had, until either Lemy would get up or Lincoln would return. The second came first. He only gave her a brief greeting before disappearing to shower. When he came back to the living room refreshed minutes later and sat in his desk chair, he did not spin it around to the drawings scattered across the work station. Instead, he smiled at his niece.

"So Lacy told me something before I dropped her off." He informed her.

"Did she?" Lyra turned the tv volume down.

"Yeah." He was still smiling. "And she said you're the one who encouraged her." So Lacy had told him, and apparently a little about the talk the two girls had had.

"About being a father figure?" She figured she should make sure they were on the subject. He nodded and smiled a little wider. There was something different about it, not the reassuring or amused kind they'd seen him make the last few days. This one seemed giddy. He was happy about it, maybe even bragging.

"Well, you deserved it." She said earnestly. "You're stepping into a role for Lacy and the others that isn't easy. One that you really don't have an obligation to."

"Yeah…well…" He seemed embarrassed. "I was there when most of you guys were born. I saw you guys grow up. To be honest, at first it was like having more little sisters." His expression changed as he said that, looking less cheerful. "I mean, I have no problem with it." He said at last. "They all need someone like that in their lives."

"They do. But taking up the responsibilities left by men of weaker strength is still very admirable." Aunt Leni may have been the kindest soul in the world despite her…being ditzy, and Aunt Lori had a good work ethic despite her slightly flawed home life, but Lyra was willing to say her uncle was the most respectable of her family she knew. "You're a very good man."

"Yeah…" He agreed quietly.

"Do your sisters ever thank you?" Lyra realized that was probably rude to ask, but she was curious. She was trying to find something redeemable from them in this whole arrangement, otherwise she'd go on just believing they were using their brother.

"Oh yeah, yeah." He nodded. "They're all really grateful. I get Lynn probably doesn't look like it, but she's very…uh…"

"Not good with words?" Lyra guessed.

"Yeah!" He nodded enthusiastically. "That."

There was silence for a moment.

"Can I…ask you something?" Lyra approached tepidly. When she got a confirmation, she went on. "You think Lacy, Liby, and Lupa need a surrogate parent in their lives." He nodded. "You think Lemy and me do too?"

"Well…" He responded awkwardly. "That's not the ONLY reason I've been nice to you both, if that's what you're thinking. I wanted to see you guys. I haven't seen you since you were a little girl and I never met Lemy. That's mainly why I asked Luna if you guys could stay."

"Wait, you _asked_ our mother if we could stay here?" Lyra asked. He nodded, and she felt herself go pink in the face. Their uncle had gone out of his way for them, something she couldn't recall any of her aunts ever doing. It was always _"I asked your aunt and she said you dudes can bunk with them for a while"_. And just by how much he'd been trying to do things with them their brief time here. He had enthusiasm only matched by their mother. It suddenly made more sense.

"I see…" Lyra finally said. "Thank you. That means a lot to me…And I'm sure Lemy too." Her uncle regained some of the happiness in his expression.

"I hope you don't find it weird or anything." He offered.

"No, no." Lyra shook her head. "Mom told me the type of man you are, and I've seen it myself: you like to help your family. There's nothing at all wrong with that." She paused for a moment; what she was about to say may not have been nice, but it was honest. "I don't think we need it, but I'm still grateful you'd try."

"You are older than the others." Her uncle recognized. "You…found a way to deal with it on your own?" He asked, looking a little worried.

"Yes." She didn't have the same good fortunate as her cousins, but she'd managed in her own way. "Even if both our fathers are gone and mom isn't around very often, Lemy and me have enough guidance in life. I have the Word of God. And even if he doesn't realize it, Lemy has me." Her uncle leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed as she finished and was silent for a few moments.

"Both?" He said questioningly as he opened his eyes and sat back up. "What do you mean 'both'?"

"Hmm?" Lyra was confused two at first. "Lemy and me have different fathers." Now her uncle looked confused and shook his head.

"No, no. That can't be right. What gave you an idea like that?" He asked.

"Because despite my mother's flaws, I don't think she's stupid enough to have gone back to the same person who left her a single mother and let them do it again." Now her uncle looked extremely uncomfortable, and Lyra realized she'd overstepped her bounds. Her uncle was just trying to defend his sister's reputation. "I'm sorry." She apologized. "I shouldn't have said that about my own mother."

"It's…fine." Lincoln mumbled. "It's fine." He repeated in a louder voice. "It was a stupid question." He admitted. Silence reigned between them.

"She always told me she didn't know." Lyra revealed.

"Yeah. She told our parents the same thing." Her uncle confirmed.

"It's not a big deal to me." Lyra informed him. "Lemy's still my brother and our mom is still our mom. Whoever those two men are, I keep them in my prayers and keep living my life. They're not worth burdening myself over."

"That's good." Lincoln nodded. "Luna's a good mom to you guys though, right?"

That wasn't a subject Lyra wanted to discuss. But the two had both been forthcoming so far in this conversation. And her uncle was clearly asking it out of concern for their well being…

"She's not perfect…but she tries." Lyra couldn't bring herself to say 'yes'.

"Well, that's any parent." He told her. "But it's Luna." He smiled a bit. "She was always the cool big sister to us. She has to be a cool mom too, right?" 'Cool'? Lyra wasn't sure how to respond to that. When that became clear, her uncle asked a different question.

"Well, what kind of stuff do you guys do? You ever go to her shows?"

"No, she plays at night." Lyra told him.

"So you guys can spend the day together? That's not so bad." He thought out loud.

" _Lemy, you need to go to sleep." She finally spoke up after her the five-year-old sat up for the fourth time. The jumped when he realized he was caught and got back under the covers._

" _When's mom coming home?" He asked._

" _She'll be home later. Go to sleep." She pulled him over to her. He still tried in vain for another two hours to stay awake before giving in to sleep. It would still take him a few weeks before he got used to mom not putting him to bed._

"I guess not." Lyra dismissed the flashback. She thought for a moment. "Did mom smoke when she was teenager?" She asked.

"Huh?" Lincoln was surprised by the sudden question. "She did, but she quit. Why?"

"I just found out she does last year." She told him. "We were at a rest stop and mom told me to go wait on the bus. I went to look for her later and found her smoking. She was trying to hide the fact from us." Lyra was pretty impressed she had done it so well; she never found any on her mother when she came home passed out. "Just something I remembered."

"Luna mentioned you and her have problems getting along." He told her, and Lyra was genuinely shocked. She didn't know her mother even recognized her daughter's disapproval, let alone thought to mention it to family.

"Yes." Lyra admittedly defensively. "I have a few issues with my mother. Justified issues." She added. Lincoln didn't look accusing. Actually, he was nodding.

"Yeah, Lacy, Liby, and Lupa like to vent to me about their moms too." He told her. "What's the deal with Luna?" This conversation had gone nothing like Lyra anticipated when it first started. Yet, for some reason, she kept talking.

"She comes home late and in a mess a lot." Her uncle nodded.

"Yeah. All of us used to have to sneak her in and hidden from our parents." He told her. "Lot of fun."

"Picking your mother off the floor and putting her in bed isn't fun." Lyra wasn't amused he thought it worth reminiscing.

"Right, right." Lincoln nodded. "Sorry." Lyra took a moment to compose herself before she went on.

"Remember what I said earlier? About Lemy having me? I've done so much to help raise him. I've helped him with his homeschooling. I've taught him how to behave. I feed him most days. I have to help raise him because she'd too busy."

"Well, what's the problem with that?" Her uncle asked. "When we were kids we always helped raise whoever was younger than us."

"There were eleven of you." Lyra retorted. "Your parents worked heard to provide for all of you. There's only Lemy and me and mom's rich. There should be no reason I've had to do as much as I have. I've probably done more then she _ever_ has." Lyra realized how worked up she has getting and stopped to calm down, her hand drifting towards her necklace. The same one her mother had got her.

"Well…" Lincoln looked sympathetic and understanding, not at all upset his sister was getting badmouthed. "No parent is perfect. Ours weren't. Your cousins' aren't. Luna won't be…but she loves you guys. You love her too, don't you?" He looked at her necklace. "The Bible says to love your parents unconditionally, doesn't it?"

That wasn't exactly true. There were passages about respecting your parents, but there was one from the Gospel of Matthew that said to love God more than your own family. Lyra knew that's what it said, but…

"I love my mother." She told her uncle. "I'm not going to discard all the good things she's done for us. But I'm not going to forgive her for not being a better parent." Her uncle nodded approvingly.

"Have you tried talking to her about any of this?" Lyra shook her head.

"She's too set in her ways." She dismissed. Her mother had always disregarded her when she talked about the evils of alcohol and partying. She had no reason to think that'd change.

"I don't know." Her uncle looked unconvinced. "I think she'd listen." He said earnestly.

"Well…" Lyra conceded. "I may next time I see her." She had no idea how THAT might go. "Thank you." She told her uncle. "I really appreciated this conversation." She thought for a moment before standing up and going over to give her uncle a hug.

"That's always what I've been here for." He returned it.

"Excuse me." She stood up and started walking towards to hallway. Aside from a bathroom break, she just wanted a moment or two to collect her thoughts. This wasn't how she'd expected her morning to go.

Lyra stopped dead in her tracks when she discovered someone was standing in the hallway glaring at her, and her eyes went wide when she realized the conversation she'd had with her uncle had been overheard by the last person she wanted.

"Lemy?!" She whispered, panicked.


	9. Chapter 9

Over 10,000 views and over 100 followers. Thank you so much. I had no idea this story would get so popular. I am so glad you're all enjoying it and I promise I'll keep it up.

Onto the Story

"How much did you hear?" Lyra looked panicked, it kind of scared Lemy. Cautious or suspicious he saw a lot, but not panicked. He couldn't stay defiant when he saw her like that.

"Everything." Instead of sounding tough, his voice was small and cracked. He'd gotten up as soon as he'd heard their uncle come in. At first he'd just been intending to game. One of the single player games was pretty hard and Lemy had almost given up on it, but his uncle would glance back and drop helpful hints like 'there's a secret chest there' or 'he's weak to that weapon'. So he'd try and play that game when his uncle didn't seem too into his work.

He'd gotten up and made it into the hallway quietly since Lyra hadn't fully closed the door, only to stop when he heard his uncle mention Lacy. He'd listened in on the girls' conversation last night (which wasn't creepy at all, really), so he was curious. Personally, he thought Lacy was being stupid, but he still wanted to hear what his uncle would say. And he'd heard every word both of them had said.

He wasn't sure what to make of most of it. He'd heard Lyra talking bad about mom, but this time he wasn't feeling like letting it slide. Lyra thought she did more than mom? Yeah right! But…what did she mean during that talk about dads when she said he was _still_ her brother? He always had been.

…Hadn't he?

He barely understood any of it. He wanted to be angry, but his sister was freaking him out. What was she so scared of? Even now he could see her biting her bottom lip.

"Lemy…" She started to say. Down the hall, Lemy saw his uncle as the man was making his way to the kitchen. He must've caught sight of them out of the corner of his vision, because he turned to look at them both. He seemed confused to see them there.

"Guys?" Lyra jumped a little when he spoke. Then he took a step towards them.

"Back off." Lemy warned, and his uncle stopped uneasily. He may not have understood a lot of their conversation, but he understood his uncle was the reason they were here in the first place. Just for that, he'd already lost his cool status. If mom wanted them to go somewhere, fine. But if someone wanted to pull them away from her? Screw that.

No sooner had he said that did Lyra scoop him right off the ground and carry him into the bedroom. "Just give us a few minutes!" She called back into the hallway, using her foot to close the door behind them. She took a seat on the edge of the bed, holding him in her lap. After a moment, Lyra sighed.

"I'm sorry you overheard that." She told him.

"You're not better than mom." He snapped, turning around to face her. He wasn't sure why he blurted that out first. Maybe it was the easiest to approach. He could feel her flinch as he said it.

"I never said I was." She answered his accusation quietly. "I told you, Lemy: I love mom just like you do even though she gets on my nerves." He turned back to face the wall. That answer was a cop out.

"She's better than you'll ever be." That shut her up, but a little too well. Lemy suddenly felt a little guilty, and he lost the courage to look back and see her face. "But you're pretty cool too." He added quietly. After a nearly unbearable silence, his sister spoke again.

"When I said those things, it was because I miss mom just like you do."

"You said you're better than her."

"No I didn't." She refuted again calmly, quietly.

"You said…" Lemy stopped to think and realized he was wrong. What his sister had actually said was that _maybe_ she'd done more to take care of him than mom had. He was stumped

What she said was probably true. He couldn't clearly remember the last time mom had been the one to put him to bed. Mom bought them food on the road, but Lyra was the one to make him food otherwise. She usually helped him with the homeschool work too. She did do a lot of work.

But why did she say that while she was complaining about mom? Yeah, Lyra took care of him, but she was his sister and sisters were supposed to do that. While he was silently racking his brain, she kept talking.

"I'm sure you're confused about what you heard. I don't expect you to understand it…but everything's fine, Lemy. There's nothing to worry about." He was definitely confused. But he was angry too.

"You were complaining about mom again." He knew he hadn't misheard that. "You said she was stupid!"

"I said I _didn't_ think she was stupid." She raised her voice slightly.

"You said 'stupid enough'!" Lemy shot back. He felt her flinch again. "You're wrong. You're both wrong." Their uncle had even agreed with her! "Mom's awesome."

"Lemy…" His sister sighed. "There are just some things I can't explain to you yet. Just trust me when I say it's nothing to worry about. Just please forget those things I said." He almost did. A part of him did want to drop everything, but another part didn't. He was still confused and wanted answers.

"You guys were talking about dads." As soon as he said it he heard his sister inhale and felt her put her arms around him. He tried to think of what to say next, because he had so many questions about it. He'd never cared about it, but it was hard not to after what he'd heard, mainly because nothing about it matched what he'd previously thought. Finally, he asked about the thing that had bothered him most.

"Why did you say I was still your brother?" He implication that he wasn't, or that she wasn't his sister, even for a little bit of time struck a chord with him. It just went too much against one of the core things in his life. Something he'd _never_ questioned.

"You _are_ my brother." She hugged him closer. "You always have been, every day since the day God blessed mom and me by putting you on his earth. And you always will be, no matter what."

"So what _did_ you mean then?" He asked. He didn't want to drop this subject, not yet. "What did all that mean? How do we have different dads?" When she didn't answer, he looked over his shoulder to see her blushing and looking scared again. She really was acting different today.

"Well…" She finally said when he started staring. "It takes a boy and a girl to have a child. Don't ask how." She added suddenly. Lemy knew the first part, but not the second. He didn't want an answer on that right now anyway. "And while a person _should_ commit to one other person for the rest of their lives, they don't always do." She took a deep breath.

"Mom…fell in love with a man and had me. Then he left her. A few years later she fell in love with a different man and had you. And he left all of us. But like I told our uncle, it's not important Lemy." She looked him in the eyes. "It's far more important that we have the same mother. It's more important that we're a family together with mom. That we haven't been apart a day in our lives. That's what makes us brother and sister; That's all that matters. Do you understand?" She asked hopefully.

Did he? He'd always thought they had a dad that had just left. And if what she said was true, they both did. So then why was it when he'd asked Lyra or mom about it, they spoke like it was one guy instead of two? Whenever he heard her pray before bed she'd even say 'our father'. He asked that next.

"Because when you asked, you were too young. I still think you are now." He turned away from her again in frustration. What did age have to do with anything? Now that he heard it, it seemed obvious since Lyra had to have been around for a few years before he was there.

Actually…

"Wait, did you know who my dad was?" He asked. Lyra was six years older than him. So she had to have been about six when he was born. And before he was born mom would've been pregnant with him. Lemy could remember stuff from when he was that young, so Lyra could too.

"No." She sighed. "I can't remember back that far."

"But you were only six when I was born. I can remember when I was six." Lemy thought she might be lying to him.

"It gets harder to remember the older you get." She explained. "If I did see him, I don't remember." That made sense, he guessed.

"Fine." Lemy decided. "I don't care. About my dad or yours. They both suck." Lemy had always thought their old man had just walked out. And he was still right. He could keep his previous opinion.

"Yes, Lemy." His sister seemed relieved. "Just don't think about it." He wouldn't, just like he hadn't before. It wasn't worth it. Lemy was feeling pretty good and reassured. He'd even forgotten what he'd been angry about before. But their conversation wasn't over. After a moment, Lyra spoke to him again.

"Why'd you snap at our uncle?" Now she asked him a question. Lemy knew why he did, but suddenly he thought he'd look stupid if he said it out loud. Lyra kept talking while he stayed silent. "He's just trying to be nice to us, Lemy, there's no reason to be mean."

"I wanted to go with mom on tour." He didn't sound convincing even to himself.

"Haven't you been having fun here?" She asked.

"Yeah." He admitted. "But I thought we were here because mom wanted us to be, not because he asked her. It's weird." He decided to expand on that statement. "He's weird. And Lacy's weird too. I heard what you guys were talking about."

"Did you?" She asked suspiciously, and Lemy suddenly realized he'd incriminated himself. But she didn't dwell on it long. "What's weird about it?"

"We don't know him." Lemy may not have had any experience with dads, but he knew they were supposed to be close. So to have someone just randomly come in your life and start trying to be close? Yeah, that was pretty weird.

"I knew him from when I was little." Lyra corrected him. "And there's nothing wrong with getting to know new people."

"It's just _weird_." Lemy insisted. "Who wants to do stuff like that?"

"He just wants to be helpful."

"We don't need help. We're fine." That's what he honestly thought. He didn't know if his other cousins were the same, but he didn't get why Lacy seemed to like the idea so much; she seemed happy any other time. Lyra lifted him and sat him sideways on her lap so she could look at him while she kept talking.

"I know how much you love mom, Lemy. But please, just think for a moment how nice it would be if there was someone else who wanted to help take care of you. Like I told Lacy, it's normal-"

"We don't _need_ another person." He cut her off.

"You don't _need_ video games." She responded surprisingly quick. "But they're nice to have, aren't they?" He saw the logic she was making. He saw it, but still didn't like it.

"We already have mom. I think that's enough. If you want to hate her, fine." His mind worked, and suddenly a new argument popped into his head. "You said you take care of me as much as mom does!" He pointed at her accusingly. "I already got two people taking care of me, so why do I need another?" He challenged her.

The two stared at each other, Lemy defiant and Lyra looking earnest but a little disappointed.

"Okay." His sister sighed and moved him from her lap to the bed space beside her. "I understand if you don't like the idea. I won't force you to come around." Wait, was he winning an argument with his sister? She stood up. "Just please don't be rude to her uncle over this."

"…I won't." Lemy finally said, still kind of stunned he'd won the argument. Their uncle didn't talk much anyway; Lemy thought he could avoid trouble just as long as he didn't speak to him.

"Come out whenever you're ready and I'll make you some breakfast, okay?" She really was dropping the matter completely.

"I will." Lemy said quietly. Lyra got up and left, leaving Lemy to think to himself.

Lemy stayed in the room for the rest of the day. His sister eventually brought him food but didn't try and talk to him. He didn't do it to be difficult, just because he didn't want to talk to anyone. And man, was it boring. It was probably the first time he'd ever fallen asleep before 7.

The next morning was weird. His sister kept watching him while he was trying to eat. Even his uncle noticed what she was doing. Lemy wondered if they'd talked at all yesterday after the talk he had with Lyra. Things had gotten weirder after breakfast- Lyra asked if he wanted to go to church with her. It was a Sunday, although Lemy didn't keep up with the days of the week very often.

He told her no. He didn't care about that stuff and just wanted to stay here. So then she decided she wasn't going to go at all, and he got irritated because she was doing it just because of him. But then she saw that and decided to go by herself anyway!

Man, girls were weird.

It was just another lazy day, although one he started it watching tv rather than video games. They could get boring, he admitted. Just like every day before, his uncle was working at his desk. Why'd he even want them to stay if he wasn't going to do anything? And how bad did that pay if he had to do so much? Mom could play once a month and be set. She did most her shows just for fun.

It was just before eleven and Lemy was contemplating dragging himself up from the couch to play some video games instead when he noticed his uncle rise from his seat and stretch. "I think I'll walk down to Flip's and get some snacks. You want to come along?" He offered.

Lemy was immediately suspicious, hard not to be after what he'd heard. But he would like some snacks; almost all the food in the house for meals. What was the worst that could happen? He talked Lyra into backing down yesterday (even if he still felt kind of bad about it), so he thought he could probably talk his uncle down, make him not bother.

"I guess." He hopped off the couch and went to go grab his shoes and some of the money mom had sent them here with. His uncle was still stretching when he got back in the living room and they left.

"How bad does your job pay if you gotta work all day?" He decided to voice his thoughts as they started walking. It'd be a short journey, only down the stairs and down the street.

"It doesn't pay that bad, actually." If he recognized his nephews veiled insult, he didn't say it. "I can get 30 bucks easy for pictures I can do in only a few hours. I can make a over a hundred a day if I have enough customers" Over 100 a day? For doing some drawings?

"So how come you aren't like aunt Lori? She makes a lot of money and her house is almost like a mansion."

"Well, I don't keep all of it." He admitted. "I give some to your aunts to help them out." Oh great, they ended up on this subject. "But I guess that sounds 'weird' to you, doesn't it?" So Lyra had told him what Lemy said.

"Yeah…" He didn't expect a direct confrontation.

"I don't expect you to understand." His uncle told him. "I guess it is a little weird. But I like doing it. And they like me doing it."

"Yeah, well I don't care." Two people could be honest. "You can focus on them. I don't need it." Lemy was pretty sure Lyra had already been won over. Not surprising, considering how she felt about mom.

"You're probably right." His uncle admitted. Why was this guy so agreeable? "You already got Luna and your sister."

"Lyra-" Lemy's rebuttal died on his tongue. "Fine, you're right." He grumbled. Then he decided it was something to brag about. "I bet you can't name one thing you could do for us that Lyra can do for herself or for me."

"Well…" Lincoln thought for a moment. "I could help protect you guys. Keep you safe." Lemy snorted.

"We don't need an old man for that. I can watch out for Lyra and myself."

"Yeah, I noticed what you did at the arcade." His uncle mentioned. "When that boy started talking to your sister.

"Mom said I have to." Lemy puffed up his chest. A few months ago he'd thought about mixing up his wardrobe a bit. After trying on a wife beater (Lyra had called it a tank top but what did she know?), mom had mentioned how tough he looked. He'd insisted he was, and she'd said that was good because it meant he could protect both her and Lyra. There were all sorts of bad dudes in the world, she'd told him.

He'd seen mom get into plenty of arguments with other people while they were on the roads. And some mornings she'd have a black eye or something when she came home, something from either a party or a concert. The tour bus had been broken into once or twice, including just a couple of months ago. Lyra had been covering his ears a lot in the days after that because mom didn't miss a chance to go off on the phone or to anyone who'd listen about how pissed she was someone had made off with her knickers. Stuff and people like that. If mom left them somewhere, he'd say he was guarding wherever it was.

Lyra didn't like it when he did stuff like that though. Not that she every got into trouble with anyone. Again, a goody-two shoes. She'd push him behind her and quickly leave if it looked like there was going to be trouble of any kind. That included dragging him away or keeping him away from mom when she got into something. He'd still keep trying, just because mom said to.

Especially if his sister was thinking the same as their uncle and it kept her from buying into the idea.

"That kid didn't look bad to me." Lincoln remarked. No, he'd looked like a geek. But Lemy still didn't like him. 'Boys like pretty girls', mom had told him when he asked about the random people who'd talk to her sometimes. 'You can scare them off though'. Any time she'd kept him by her side, it didn't happen.

"Eh." Lemy shrugged. "Next."

"It's like I talked about earlier: I work and-"

"Mom's already gives us money and she's got you beat. She's rich and you live in a one-bedroom apartment. Even if you weren't giving money out she'd still have you beat." Lemy cut him off.

"Okay." He gave a strained smile. Lyra did that too, although hers looked angrier.

"You're a cool dude, but don't waste your time being something we don't need."

"Point taken." His uncle admitted as they reached the store. Lemy savored his victory as they walked in.

Like he'd told them, it was automated: basically, a whole bunch of giant vending machines where you inserted money and the door unlocked to let you grab what was behind it. Lemy saw a lot of them, and a lot where there was still someone behind the register you had to pay. Mom said a lot how surprised she was at how technology marched on.

They weren't the only people in the store, there was some guy there. Some fat, ugly, bald old dude with a gun on his hip who was taking money from the machines and putting it in a lockbox. He glanced back as they entered. "Well, it's you, Loud." He said in a harsh aged voice.

"Hey, Flip." Lincoln didn't look happy to see him. Flip? The guy who owned the store?

"Loud, you gotta be one of my most loyal customers." He laughed a disgusting and wet laugh. Then he noticed Lemy. "Since when have you had a kid?!"

"I don't. He's…" Lincoln took a moment to formulate his answer. "He's my nephew. Luna's his mom."

"Luna?" Flip seemed to be trying to remember. Then he looked surprised. "The dyke one? She had a kid? Well, who would've thought that!" He laughed. Wait, what did he just call mom?

"Yeah…" Lincoln gave another strained smile, only this one did seem angry. Fatty kept running his mouth.

"That makes you the only Loud without kids, don't it?" Before Lemy's uncle could answer that, Flip went on. "What, can't perform? I got stuff stocked for that. Only 10 bucks a pill!"

"Actually," Lincoln gave Lemy a shove towards one of the machines. "We're just getting some food and we should be getting back home." Lemy clearly got the sign to hurry up, and he agreed.

"Come back again soon, Loud!" Flip called as the two left with armfuls of snacks and drinks.

"Something about that dude rubs me the wrong way." Lemy borrowed another one of his mom's quotes.

"Yeah, Flip is a hard person to deal with." Lincoln shook his head.

"Are you really the only one in the family without kids?" Lemy asked. He'd noticed it before (heck, he'd been glad for the chance to not be annoyed by a girl cousin), but he had to admit there was a lot of novelty to the fact. Besides, maybe it had something to do with why he tried so hard with his nieces.

"Uhh…" He'd put his uncle on the spot. "I don't THINK I'm the only one. Lola and Lana might not have started families yet. No, I can't be the only one." He stated with confidence. "Lily can't possibly have any kids yet- she's only a few years older than your sister. She…she would've graduated High School last month." He suddenly realized, and his pace slowed. "Huh…"

"How come?" Lemy asked, keeping his uncle from reminiscing. Lincoln started walking normally again.

"How come?" He looked like he had to think about it for a moment. "I guess I just never found the right girl, you know? Never met that person to spend the rest of my life with." Lemy was reminded of what his sister said about committing, the type of thing his mom didn't do.

No, that couldn't be right. It had to have been both their dads' fault. THEY didn't want to commit to mom.

"Why'd Flip seem so surprised who my mom was? What's a dyke?"

"That," His uncle said with sudden found firmness, "is not something you should know at your age." He had two people telling him that now? Why couldn't he just get a straight answer?

"Whatever." Lemy didn't decide to spoil the good mood since they were almost home. He had snacks to eat and zombies to kill.

"So I noticed you keep dying to the two El Gigantes." His uncle commented about the boss fight that had been holding him up. "Did you know you can kill one without firing a shot?"

"No." Lemy answered. "But show me."

Later that day

Lyra had not had an easy day. She should've been over joyed. She'd gotten to go to an actual church service for once. She got to talk to both the clergy and some fellow Christians. She even got some information of Church functions for while she was still in town, or when she visited again.

And yet, she'd spent the entire time with a twinge of doubt behind her enthused smile. And when it was done and over she hurried back to her uncle's apartment. She still hadn't shaken her unease from yesterday's events. Lemy had never shown outright hostility or aversion to someone in their family before, so obviously she didn't want to leave him with said family member.

To her surprise though, she got home to discover them both on the couch, Lincoln coaching Lemy through a video game level.

She'd talked to her uncle yesterday after her conversation with Lemy, apologizing for his behavior and explaining her brother's aversion to the subject. He wasn't surprised or even worried.

"Yeah, your cousins were like that when they first met me too. It's not a big deal." Lyra didn't share his view and had said she'll deal with her brother for the rest of the day. He'd let her, but it was obvious he didn't think it was as big of a deal as she did.

Maybe he'd been right.

Her brother didn't act up or say anything for the entire day. It was like he'd completely forgotten the matter. Even if it worried her, she was glad not to have to discuss it again.

Lyra thought Lemy might've messed up his sleep schedule from the day before, because he ended up falling asleep early in the evening. She carried him to bed before returning the living room to see her uncle shutting off the game Lemy had been playing.

"You looked worried earlier when you came home. I told you there was nothing to worry about." He said as he sat back down. Even though she'd just put him in bed and closed the door, Lyra still checked the hallway before getting into the conversation.

"You were right." She conceded.

"He'll come around if and when he's ready. Like I said, your cousins took a while."

"I hope so." The more Lyra thought about it, the more she realized Lemy wasn't exactly hostile about the idea- he was just guarded on it like Lacy. Mom had to do more with how he'd acted than their uncle's actions. And even though she'd told her uncle yesterday she didn't think they needed it...well, like she'd told her brother: the idea was nice.

"We had fun today." He went on. Lyra nodded.

"I think he was angrier you separated him from our mom than he was what you were trying to be."

"I wouldn't blame him. Like I said, Luna was always the cool one. He's must think the same."

"Mhm…"

"You don't agree?" Her uncle asked.

"To be completely honest, no. In fact, I don't like how attached Lemy is to our mother. It's not good for him. It's not healthy."

"You admitted yesterday your mom wasn't that bad though." Lincoln sounded confused.

"She isn't." Lyra sighed. "But she doesn't belong on a pedestal like Lemy puts her. He doesn't know and understand everything. He just blindly follows her. I'm worried what's going to happen to him when he realizes that. Kids have a hard time dealing with learning something bad about their parents. It can badly affect them."

"…Can it?" Lyra completely missed the apprehension in her uncle's voice. She was caught up in her own thoughts.

"They do." She nodded. "I used to think our mother was perfect too. I remember…I still remember when I realized mom wasn't always going to be there. I remember when I learned exactly what she was doing at parties, and what it would do to her. What it MIGHT do to her. I was confused. I was worried. I thought I was a terrible person for thinking so ill of her. I felt sick to my stomach for the longest time. I don't want Lemy to go through that. I don't, but I'm not sure I can stop it."

"Well," Her uncle seemed posed to other more advice, then he grimaced, and it was clear he had no response to that. He'd already admitted his sister had her faults, so he had to know she was telling the truth. Even if it was for good intentions, how could someone change someone's view on a loved one?

"It's fine." Lyra told him. "It's something only I should worry about, anyway. I've still got a few years before it'll be an issue."

"Sorry…" Her uncle muttered.

"It's fine." Lyra said quickly. "Thank you for being understanding on all of this. But I think we should all focus on better things from now on."

"It's what I'm here for." He smiled. "Speaking of which," He looked thoughtful. "I still have to call Luan and ask if her and Liby are going to join us at the pool." He reached into his pocket for his phone. Lyra waited and watched the conversation unfold, at least from one end.

"Hey Luan. I'm good, how's show business? Glad to hear." He gave an unconvincing laugh. "I bet. Anyway, Lyra and Lemy are staying with me- no, I asked Luna if they could stay here. It's not _weird_. Look, anyway, the pool has half off on admission in two days. We're going with Lynn and Lacy and wanted to know if you guys wanted to come along. That's great! I'll have to check with Lynn, but knowing her it'll be right after they open. Alright. Yeah, I'll call you back tomorrow. Love you too. Bye."

"I assume they'll join us?"

"Yep." He smiled. "I just hope you guys are ready to deal with your aunt Lynn. She gets kind of crazy when it comes to pools." Oh, Lyra was very ready to deal with those antics and see her other aunt and cousin.

Anything as long as the matters of yesterday and today didn't come up again.


	10. Chapter 10

For the third time that week, it was Lynn and Lacy that woke them up. Well, woke Lincoln and Lemy up. Lyra had just risen and was still sleepy. Lacy crashing loudly in the fortunately locked bathroom door had woken her up well though.

When she exited and found her sheepish cousin patting the new mark on her face, she overheard her uncle and aunt in the living room. "The pool doesn't even open for another three hours." He yawned.

"I thought we could all eat breakfast together." Lynn sounded upbeat.

"You mean you thought you guys could eat _my_ breakfast." Her brother corrected.

"What, are you going to turn away your sister and niece?"

"No." He sighed. Lyra sniffed to herself and returned to the bedroom where Lemy was sitting up grumpily.

"What's the point of being here if they're still going to wake us up early?"

"This'll be the last day, hopefully." Lyra may have been an early riser, but she liked her mornings quiet. "Lacy's in there." She warned her brother when he got up and started making his way to the bathroom. He grumbled and sat back down on the bed. "Do you have your swimming clothes?" She asked. She'd gotten hers out yesterday.

"Yeah. All packed and ready." He didn't sound very happy, but she chalked that up to the early morning.

"Aunt Lynn and Lacy are joining us for breakfast." She warned him.

"Great." He muttered.

"We can still have fun today." Lyra said hopefully. "Don't let a bad morning dissuade you."

It didn't go bad at all- since the kitchen only had 3 chairs, the kids ate there while Lincoln and Lynn ate in the living room. Although they got to overhear the two adults doing their best to pick on and annoy each other.

"They're like kids." Lacy rolled her eyes. Lemy snorted. Their cousin was right in more ways than one. Since they had a few hours to pass, they did so with tv. They put on cartoons Lemy and Lacy would watch, and then the two adults sat there and watched it with them, equally engrossed. The time just flew by then.

Until it was evident Lynn and Lacy had lost track of time and only remembered when they had 30 minutes before the pool opened. By the way they'd reacted, one could think they'd missed something far more important. "C'mon!" Lacy urged. They each grabbed an arm and practically flung him from the couch.

"Oh, all right, all right." Lincoln caved in. Lyra and Lemy joined him in getting their things and getting ready to leave. Not fast enough for Lynn and Lacy's liking though. They stayed in the living room and eventually started chanting "Swimming, swimming!" Over and over again till even their uncle was urging the siblings to please hurry up. "Woo!" They raced down the stairs ahead of the three of them, letting them follow at a more leisurely pace.

They all climbed in Lincoln's car and buckled themselves in. They were ready to go, but instead Lincoln pulled his cell phone out and started tapping at the keypad.

"C'mon, c'mon, let's go." Lynn despaired.

"Yeah!" Lacy concurred.

"We still got 20 minutes till they open. I'm just texting Luan to make sure her and Liby are going to be there.

"Oh, you're a snail." Lynn pouted. Lincoln ignored her and Lacy even as the later bounced in her seat.

"Alright. Her and Liby have already left." He set his phone down and finally started the car.

"And they're probably going to get there before us." Lynn sighed dramatically as they pulled out.

"I'm just glad we actually have a pool we can go to."

"What do you mean?" Lacy asked. Their uncle laughed.

"The family had a bad habit of getting banned from pools in town and even the next few over." He looked over at his sister. "Some of us were too rowdy." She leaned over and shoved him.

"They wouldn't have noticed if you didn't scream like a little girl. Besides, Lisa and Lana got us banned most of the time."

"I guess you're right." He conceded. "The only reason we can go to this one is all the records got lost when the city rebuilt it."

Their uncle's phone rang, interrupting the conversation. Lynn reached for the center console to grab it before he hastily snagged it away at the last minute. Despite the fact he was driving, he held it up to his face.

"Who is it?" Their aunt asked. Lyra couldn't help but notice she sounded suspicious.

"Probably a telemarketer." Lincoln shrugged and pocketed the phone. His sister didn't stop staring at him, and he didn't stop staring directly at the road in front of him. This dragged on for several seconds, enough to make all of them in the backseat feel awkward.

And then suddenly the tense atmosphere disappeared and their aunt was her normal boisterous self.

"Did you guys know," Lynn turned around to look at Lemy and her, "that your mom almost got the family banned from this pool too?"

"Lynn." There was a warning tone in Lincoln's voice.

"What happened?" Lemy asked. Lyra's curiosity was cautious. She could imagine the kind of debauchery that might have that result. Her fear was well founded.

"Her and Sam broke in and nearly got caught skinny dipping here." Lynn laughed. Lincoln's grip on the wheel tightened and Lacy snickered. Lyra inhaled and stared at her aunt crossly, as if hoping her expression would make her stop. She had no interest in what her mom and her friend had done when they were her age, since it could be nothing good.

"Skinny dipping?" Lemy was confused.

"It's when you go swimming without any clothes on." Lynn explained. Lyra wanted to stop her there, but her aunt kept talking. "The cops showed up and they had to run away before they could get their clothes on!"

"Lynn." Lincoln said again warningly.

"They got all the way to the house and tried to sneak in. They didn't realize we-" She motioned to herself and her brother. "-were practicing in the backyard and we caught them." She started cracking up. "Lincoln fainted when he saw them!" She kept laughing. Lincoln leaned forward other the steering wheel, red in the face. Lyra was read in the face too, although more out of anger than embarrassment. Compared to their expressions though and Lacy and her mother's cackling, Lemy only looked thoughtful.

"Was this before or after mom had Lyra?" He asked.

"Oh, this was before. After she had her, Luna did NOT look good enough go swimming naked or otherwise." Lyra remembered that picture of her and her mom at the beach and realized her sporty aunt was making a jab at her mother's fitness after she'd had her. That, she decided, was unnecessarily cruel.

"That's enough Lynn." Clearly Lincoln had the same idea.

"It was just a joke." She tried to insist with optimism in her voice, but Lincoln clearly didn't buy it. Still, Lynn didn't continue. Lyra glanced over and couldn't help but notice Lemy seemed to be thinking deeply, not weirded out like she hoped. But at the very least, there was no more story telling for the rest of the drive.

At the pool

Their company was already waiting for them to arrive. Luan looked pretty good for a woman approaching her 30th birthday. A life on stage did necessitate a good beauty plan, after all. Although taller than most 13-year-olds, Liby had yet to acquire the good looks her mother had. Lanky, flat, an acne ridden face- the prominent dental head brace she had to wear was almost unneeded to cement her unattractiveness.

She wasn't often self-conscious about this fact. She didn't talk to other people a lot, really.

"There they are." Her mother told her, and Liby looked up to see her uncle's old sedan, much older then the one they had, pulling into the parking lot.

This whole outing had been sudden for her. Just yesterday her mom had told her last night her brother had called and invited them to go swimming with him and Liby's aunt and a few of her cousins, so they would be going shopping that day.

Nearly gave her a panic attack.

It wasn't like she didn't want to go though. Her and mom didn't do stuff together all that often- differing interests. Her mom was too energetic for most of the things Liby enjoyed, like board and card games. It was hard to even have a conversation with her mother- she seemed unable to talk for long without making a joke or pun.

That wasn't an exaggeration. Liby had literally seen her go red in the face or clamp her hands over her mouth trying to stop herself. But at least they could do this. Luan was even more excited than her daughter.

Her uncle was the only person Liby could get to reliably play games with her. Lemy had tried, but he wasn't any good at them. Lyra wasn't interested and Lacy- Liby saw her more often then the other two, but they couldn't be more different from each other. It made it all the more odd she was the only one other than their uncle who could get her out of her comfort zone.

"Hey sis!" Lynn and Lacy ran up to them while the others walked more slowly. "Hey, Liby." Lynn was a very physical person, although Liby had learned to stop flinching when her aunt gave her hard pats on the shoulder. "You guys ready to get wet?"

"Yep! I'm sure this day will go _swimmingly_. Get it?" Liby groaned at her mom's pun while her aunt and cousin rolled their eyes. "Hey, Lincoln!" Compared to the greeting she'd given her sister, Luan went up to hug her brother. Liby went up to give her uncle a hug too.

"Hey guys." When he was done hugging Liby, he stood back up and put a hand on his chin. "Have you gotten taller?" He asked.

"Maybe." She blushed. She turned to Lyra and Lemy. "Hi guys." She moved in to give her older cousin a hug.

"It's great to see you again." Lyra greeted.

"Hey." Lemy waved.

"Alright, alright, that's enough greetings." Lynn declared impatiently. "Let's go! There's already a bunch of people here and we're not going to be able to get a poolside spot!" Liby gulped nervously.

"Why don't you guys go save us one?" Lincoln suggested, and the pair bolted. Liby had seen Lacy interacting with their uncle before. She was rough and a lot more energetic. He looked like the kind of man who'd fall over if the wind blew too hard. She had no idea how he managed.

"You guys are looking good." Her mom said to Lemy and Lyra as they walked towards the entrance at a much slower pace. "How's your mom doing?"

"Booked for another tour." Lemy answered.

"I hope you guys aren't too bored at Lincoln's. I can always drop by and help liven things up." Luan offered, and suddenly Lincoln looked scared.

"No, we're enjoying ourselves." Lyra answered.

"He's cool enough." Lemy shrugged. Luan winked and elbowed her brother. They kept talking, but Liby started to tune it out of it as they approached the gate. She could already see a mass of people beyond it at the pool, and her hands started to turn clammy.

Then she felt her mom and uncle get on either side of her and each grab a hand, and suddenly the worry and unease lifted from her shoulders.

Liby did not like crowds. A silly thing for a teenager to be scared of, but she was. She wasn't exactly terrified of them, but they made her nervous. They always had. It wasn't a crippling phobia. School was tolerable to her. But out in public? She was eager to avoid if possible and quick to leave if unavoidable.

Her and her mother always theorized it had to do with an incident when she was little. She'd just been about to start kindergarten. And what do kindergarteners need? School supplies. So her mom had taken her to the mall to get some. And at some point they'd gotten separated from each other because of the crowd. For over an hour.

Liby didn't remember it all that well- she'd been little. But according to her mom it had been a very traumatizing experience for both of them. Maybe it'd had a lasting effect?

She didn't need therapy or anything. She was fine as long as she had someone with her: her mom, her aunt, even her cousins. Every since he'd come into her life 4 years ago, he uncle had been an especially reassuring presence. That's what them grabbing her hand had been- reminding her they were there. And that made everything fine.

They got to the gate and paid the entrance fee. Lincoln volunteered to pay for all of them, but Liby's mom insisted she'd pay for her and Liby. It wasn't the first time Liby had seen them do that back and forth either; they did it nearly every time the three of them were together. Last time it had been over ice cream.

Either way, they got in. The pool wasn't as crowded as Lynn and Lacy had said and Liby had imagined, relative to its size at least. Most of the pool goers were adults with little kids, who were hanging around the shallow end. Lynn and Lacy were waving at them from the deep end, where they'd already gathered five chairs.

"You welcome." Lynn said proudly.

"Yeah, thanks." Lincoln tossed his bag onto one of them.

"Now we just need to make sure someone guards them at all times."

"Sounds like your specialty." Lincoln mused.

"Yeah, but we gotta change. So you boys got guard duty. C'mon Lacy." Mother and daughter made their way over to the locker rooms.

"Of course." Liby watched her uncle role his eyes before her mother bid her to follow. Lyra came too, although Lemy stayed with their uncle.

Picking out a bathing suit had been a taxing mental challenge to Liby. When you didn't like crowds, obviously you didn't want to give them a reason to stare at you. Her mom's insistence to her to find something to 'maybe get a cute boy to notice you' hadn't helped. Socializing wasn't something Liby handled well either. With only four girls she knew at her school ( a little unofficial 'nerd club') who had the same interest in board and card games, she had a pretty small social circle. Despite being 13, boys were not something that was on the agenda.

She'd picked out a yellow and orange one piece. Ugly colors, but she liked them. Her mother seemed to think it was because yellow was a favorite color of hers too. The real reason was slightly more embarrassing- Liby thought the colors expressed who she was. They were colors of caution.

Like she said, it was a one piece. Full fitting although she was a little uncomfortable showing of so much of her legs. Lyra was wearing a one piece too, just without all the frills at the edges. Her mom, her aunt, and her younger cousin all had two pieces. Lynn and Lacy clearly wanted to show off, although it was their fitness rather than any feminine qualities they wanted to present.

Everyone in her family knew she was a shy girl, and they had different ways of responding. Her mother would give her gentle nudges every now in then, like the boys comment when they'd been shopping. Her uncle, and Lemy and Lyra, accommodated it and just avoided going out and doing stuff. Her sporty aunt and cousin though? They were pushy.

They'd tried, and still occasionally tried to this day, to get Liby into an intensive workout program. They thought it was a confidence issue rather than a deep-seated fear, or instead that deep-seated fear could be defeated with confidence. 'Prove you're a match for it!' or 'Make the world fear YOU'. Liby deeply respected her aunt Lynn- she was a strong woman. And she loved Lacy because she really did want someone her own age to hang around with no matter how different they were. But really, some things just weren't for her.

The sporty duo were changed before any of them and charged out of the locker room with whoops and hollers towards the pool, which Liby was sure was a rule violation. They weren't going to get banned for that, were they?

"Do I look okay?" She asked her mom and cousin.

"Oh, I think next to the other girls here you'll _knock them out of the water_. Ha!" Her mom laughed at her own wit. Even though that wasn't the intention, Liby still smiled.

"You look lovely." Lyra said. Despite being only two years older than Liby, talking to Lyra felt like talking to an adult. Not that that was a bad thing, it just explained why Liby admittedly got along better with Lacy despite seeing her less often; she was another kid.

When they emerged back into the sunlight, Lynn and Lacy had already dived in. The boys were no where to be seen, probably changing. Her mom decided she wasn't ready to go swimming just yet and went to sit in one of the pool chairs. Lyra got near the edge like she was about to dive in and Liby started inching her way to the shallow end, where most of the little kids were.

"Where are you going?" Her older cousin noticed.

"I don't know how to swim." Liby admitted quietly.

"What now?" Her cousin hadn't heard her. Liby took a few steps closer.

"I can't swim." She whispered again. She'd never learned. She could only think of a few instances she was at a pool in her life, and she'd always stayed in the shallow end. Lyra gave a nod of comprehension. And without missing a beat, she responded.

"Do you want me to teach you?" She offered.

"Uhh…" Liby thought about it. She kind of did, but she was worried about being seen. Especially next to little kids who by the looks of it could swim just fine. "I guess." She mumbled. Lyra nodded and dived into the pool before resurfacing and swimming up to the edge.

"Hold on to the edge and lower yourself into the water." She told her. "You won't go under and you can get right back out if you want." Wait, did she mean let her feet hang in deep water? That sounded terrifying. Her cousin noticed and swam further down to a shallower part of the pool where the effect would be the same but there wouldn't be as much distance between Liby's suspended feet and the bottom of the pool. The difference may not have made it less unnerving, but it gave her the confidence to actually do it.

"I'm right here and there's a lifeguard over there." Lyra went on as Liby lowered herself down. "There's nothing to worry about."

"Right." Liby said quietly as her hands gripped the concrete. She tried to press her feet against the smooth surface of the poolside below the water, but they kept sliding. While she was trying, she noticed her uncle and Lemy coming back, both now wearing swim trunks. She watched was cousin run and jump in just like the others and how Lincoln decided he'd sit with his sister a while before getting in. Once Lynn noticed the two, she even climbed out and went to join them.

"Are you comfortable?" Lyra asked.

"I think." Liby was sure she wasn't going to sink, but her arms were quickly getting tired. Lyra nodded and dived under the water. Liby yelped when she felt someone grabbed her legs and start pulling them up. Lyra's head came back up a moment later. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to help you float." She explained. "If you just relax, you can float on the surface no problem." With a bit of effort she got the entirety of Liby's body to the surface. "Just stretch and try not to move." She told her. And that's what the younger girl did, despite her instincts screaming at her to do the exact opposite. She was shocked to discover it was actually true! She even felt confident enough to slacken her grip on the edge. "See? It's easy."

"Yeah." She agreed with the most confidence thus far. Lyra swam up to the edge. Liby let her body sink beneath the surface again and joined her, although with a softer grip on the edge this time. "That was kind of fun."

"It's not that hard. Lemy was five and he learned in only a few days."

"Did you teach him too?"

"Our mom mostly taught him, but I helped." There was something in her tone that clearly sad 'don't ask anymore' and Liby didn't. "So how was school?" She changed the subject. That was part of the reason she seemed like an adult; like the adults, she always seemed interested in if she was doing well.

"Honor roll." The younger teen admitted. She didn't really try, but it was easy enough.

"That's nice."

"What about you guys?" Liby asked. She knew they lived on the road with their mom, but that was it. Her mom picked up some of those celebrity magazines sometimes to see how her sister was doing. Liby would look at them too but her cousins had never been alluded to. They seemed to like a quiet life too.

"We're doing good." Lyra looked over to the poolside where the adults were. "This is the first time we've met Uncle Lincoln. He's a very nice man."

"He always was." Liby agreed. She could remember the day she first met him back when she was nine. Her mom had told her to come out and meet her uncle, someone who'd never been mentioned to her up to that point. A lot shyer than she was now, Liby had instead run back into her room and closed the door. It was silly to think about today.

There used to be a lot of early bedtimes, since her mom wanted Liby in bed before she left to do her shows. After that though, they got pushed back while her uncle came to watch her at night. It'd been a lot of silence at first, but they'd warmed up to each other eventually. He'd been a lot like her back then, shy. They probably played Clue and Guess Who over a hundred times then. Liby remembered one distinctive time they gotten caught up enough in the game that they were still up when her mom got home well after midnight.

It was hard to say who'd been more afraid of her just then: Liby or her uncle. But over the years it was more than just babysitting and board games. He was like her mom, understood how she was and helped her stay confident.

Both teens turned around when they heard some frantic splashing. Lemy and Lacy had drifted down towards them and were aggressively splashing water against each other. Lyra's eyes narrowed, and she left the edge to swim out a little towards them.

"Is something wrong?" Liby asked.

"I'm just watching." Her cousin didn't take her eyes off them. "They like to roughhouse a lot."

"I'm sure they'll be fine." Liby said. "Lacy's not that bad." She never rough housed with her, anyway.

A high pitched but still clearly masculine scream draw all four youth's attention to the poolside where the adults were. Lynn had lifted her brother out of his chair and over her shoulder in a firemen's carry. "Lynn!" He flailed, trying to escape. She began walking towards the deeper end of the pool, and it was clear what was about to happen.

"Uh oh." Liby felt bad for him.

"THE WEAK SHOULD FEAR THE STRONG!" Lacy roared approvingly.

"And he tried to tell me he was strong." Lemy was amused at seeing his tiny aunt carry their much bigger uncle.

Lincoln gave one last scream before his sister stepped off the edge and they both went under. They came back up a moment later, Lynn laughing and Lincoln gasping and flailing till he could get his bearings. This wasn't helped by Lacy swimming over and propelling herself up onto his shoulders.

"Yeah!" Mother and daughter high fived.

"You two are going to kill me." Lincoln smiled wearily once he could finally keep him and his niece afloat.

Again, Liby had to wonder just how her uncle survived.

"How about we get back to our swimming lesson?" Lyra suggested after the spectacle was over.

"Uh…sure." Liby agreed quietly. She felt a lot more confident now that any attention from the shallow end had been diverted onto her uncle, aunt, and cousin.

"Come over to me." She beckoned. Liby did so. "Put your arms around my neck." She instructed. Liby wasn't used to be so close to another person, but she did so anyway. The face rig made it difficult, but she managed.

"Now what?" She asked. She yelped in alarm when her older cousin started swimming backwards, pulling her over to the deep end of the pool.

"Don't panic." Lyra told her. "Just hold on and try and keep your body level on the water." Liby tried to do just that, although he heart hammered in her chest as the water lapped at her chin. "Now let your legs sink slightly and kick." Liby tried. It was harder to move her legs then the thought so she tried harder. "Slow kicks. You can swim just with your feet if you can find the right rhythm."

Their uncle was leaving the pool despite Lynn and Lacy's best efforts to keep him, so Lacy decided to swim over to them. "What are you guys doing?" She asked.

"I'm teaching Liby how to swim." Lyra explained. Liby blushed but nodded that it was true.

"Ooh, I can help!" Lacy volunteered. "Mom wanted me to try for the swimming team so she had me doing swim sprints all summer once."

"Hmm." Lyra thought about it. "Okay." She decided. She reached behind her and grabbed one of Liby's arms. "Give you other arm to Lacy." She told her, and Liby did. "We'll stay on your side and hold your arms. I want you try and kick your feet to stay up." Both of them swam away from her, keeping her arms held up. Liby felt herself start to sink and started kicking frantically. "Slow kicks." Her cousin reminded her.

Liby realized that their grips meant she wasn't going to actually sink, so she started experimenting in speed and movement. It was hard to miss how the pressure in her arms eased as she did so. She eventually found a rhythm where there wasn't any pressure at all. "I think I got it." She said quietly. Lacy immediately dropped the arm she was holding. Liby couldn't help but panic and quickly grabbed onto Lyra.

"What are you girls up to?" It was Aunt Lynn.

"Liby doesn't know how to swim." Her daughter explained. Lynn's eyes widened comically.

"You don't know how to swim? She sounded aghast.

"Uhh…"

"We can fix that right now!" She declared.

"Maybe," Lyra hadn't looked pleased at being latched onto but still subtly paddled away with Liby still hanging on, "We should stick with basics a little longer."

"Actually…" Liby spoke up. "I think I'll give it a try." Her cousins looked surprised and her aunt elated. Yeah, the whole fitness thing wasn't for her, but it was just learning to swim. She respected her enough to believe this could be manageable.

"Hmm. If you say so. I'll be glad to help again if you want it." Lyra offered.

"Thanks." Before Liby could say anything else, her eager aunt had pulled her away and towards the the deep end.

"Trust me, you're not going to regret this." Her aunt assured her.

Liby regretted it. Well, at first she regretted it. Her aunt's first 'technique' was to tell her niece to hold on tight before diving below the surface, taking her all the way to the very bottom of the deep end before coming back up. "That was just to get you comfortable." She told her quivering niece.

The next hour was arm numbing. Her aunt taught her different swimming strokes and kept her alternating between them. She remembered what Lyra had taught her and kept working on her legs, making them eventually sore too. But she kept at it.

Eventually, probably out of worry, her uncle came over to check on her and make sure she wasn't being pushed too far. Once he got to the edge though Lynn grabbed his arm and, for the second time that day, pulled her unwilling brother into the pool.

"Take a bench break kiddo." Her aunt told her. She was holding onto the edge of the pool when her uncle appeared beside her.

"Are you okay?" Liby asked as he resurfaced.

"Yeah." He panted and took a moment to catch his breath. "You know," he chuckled, "this entire time I've been watching your mother. I should be watching Lynn instead."

"Maybe you should." She agreed. The puns were expected, but she was surprised her mom hadn't pulled a prank or even gotten into the pool yet.

"You having fun?" He asked.

"Yeah, a lot." Liby nodded enthusiastically. She looked over at her cousins doing their own thing. "It's great seeing everyone again." Normally she only saw Lyra and Lemy when they visited and Lacy on occasions like Christmas or birthdays. "I wish we could do stuff like this together more."

"Me too, Liby." Her uncle sighed. "Me too." He realized how glum he sounded and cheered up. "Your aunt isn't be too hard on you, right?"

"So, she's fine." She assured him. "It's actually a lot of fun." She could actually tread water for close to a minute now. It was amazing.

"Well…don't be afraid to ask for a break if you want one." He told her.

"I won't." Liby promised. She caught sight of Aunt Lynn coming back towards the pool. "You should probably get out before she comes back in." She pointed. Her uncle caught sight and she thought she saw his eyes bulge slightly.

"I should." He agreed and scrambled out, giving his sister a wide birth before she dived back in and came up to Liby.

"Alright, let's get back at it!" She pounded a fist into her palm.

Later that day

They stayed at the pool into the afternoon. Lynn's abilities to teach were astounding, at least to Lyra. When she'd started with her cousin earlier that day, Liby didn't even want to let go of the edge. In just a few hours Aunt Lynn had changed that. By two that afternoon, Liby was swimming from one side of the pool to the other, a distance was about 20 feet, slowly but competently.

When they all took a break from swimming to enjoy some snacks the adults had pooled money together to buy, she was absolutely giddy. "Did you see?" She was excitedly asking.

"Yep, quite a _stroke_ of good luck we came here with your aunt, huh?" Her mom punned. Beside Liby, Lacy made a 'pfft' sound.

"I think that's the fastest anyone in our family has learned." Her uncle remarked.

"Just wait." Aunt Lynn seemed to be frothing with excitement. "By the end of the day, I'll make sure she can put an Olympic swimmer to shame!"

"I think that's enough progress for the day." Lincoln suggested. "Let her have some fun."

"Yeah." Liby quickly jumped on the suggestion. "Thanks a lot for teaching me, but I think I'm good enough now."

"Don't sell yourself short, Liby. You're more than good enough." Her aunt insisted. Liby nodded at the pep talk.

"C'mon, let's go!" Lacy grabbed her cousins' hand.

"Uhh, you need to wait half an-" Her uncle started to object before Lynn and Luan put a hand over his mouth. The two got a running start and leaped from the edge, Lacy with a war cry. It was hardly like the Liby Lyra knew. The two hit the water and came back up laughing. Lemy charged in after them, splashing both of them with water.

"Hey!" Lacy protester, flinging water at him. Liby joined in too and soon all three were flinging water at everyone.

"Not too rough, you guys!" Lyra called from the poolside. She got water thrown at her for her troubles. Behind her, the adults laughed.

"Liby's enjoying herself." Lincoln observed as Lyra took one of the chairs next to them.

"I'm surprised how much energy she had." Lynn remarked.

"My daughter's not _frail_ you guys." Luan rolled her eyes. "She's just not a people person."

"…Sorry." Lincoln's face was red.

A girlish scream dragged all four of their eyes back to the pool. "Woo!" Lacy was waving a pair of swimming trunks in the air- Lemy's swim trunks. The boy was swimming a few feet away, looking extremely flustered, although not nearly as much as Liby.

"Ha!" Lynn gave her daughter a thumbs up. Lyra gasped in shock and dived into pool. Lacy saw retribution coming and tossed the trunks back to that original owner. That didn't save her from getting grabbed by the ear and hauled out of the pool.

And for her crime? Her mother dismissively told her to stay out of the pool for half an hour. Lyra was furious.

After that, she decided she'd stay in the pool as long as the others were.

It got a little less enjoyable around midday as even more people showed up to take advantage of the admission discount. The pool got so crowded the only practical thing to do was soak. But that was refreshing in its own way. Liby decided about then to get out though and spend her time with the adults. A couple of other kids had even brought a giant inflatable ball with him and started an impromptu game with all the other kids. Lemy and Lacy jumped at the chance.

All good things have to come to an end though. The pool closed at five and people were leaving half an hour before that. They decided they should wrap things up too.

Goodbyes were exchanged in the parking lot. The adults hugged each other and talked about getting all together again in the future is they could manage. Even though their aunt had done most of the work, Liby thanked Lyra earnestly for teaching her. She said she looked forward to the next time her and Lemy could come over and visit. Lyra told her the feeling was mutual.

Finally, the group split and returned to their cars. The day had been fun, but it was over now and time to go home.

Well, almost over. Lincoln and Lynn were the last ones to get into the car, and as soon as Lincoln did…

PBBBBBBBBRRT. Everyone jumped.

"What the heck?" Lincoln reached under him and pulled out a whoopy cushion. Lacy started howling with laughter, and Lemy and Aunt Lynn snickered.

"So THAT'S what she did when she said she left something in the car and had to get it. Oh man, she got you good."

"Yeah." Their uncle watched Luan and Liby's car pull out of the parking lot. Inside it, both of them were looking and laughing. "I should've seen that one coming. I _knew_ my keys were in a different pocket than I'd left them."

"Yeah, too bad you're going soft." His sister teased. Lincoln didn't follow the subject further. He just tossed the joke object to the side before starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot.

The five of decided to stop at Burping Burger for dinner before going their own separate ways. Like they'd done at the apartment, Lincoln and Lynn spent the meal trying to annoy each other- snagging food off each other's' tray, flicking things, childish shenanigans in general. Lyra had heard her mom say something once that, at the time, sounded completely foolish but she remembered with more fondness just now: "Getting old is necessary. Growing up is a choice."

"So." Her aunt did turn serious as their meal wrapped up. "Any chance Lacy could drop by again?"

"So soon?" He asked in surprise. The three youths were surprised too, even Lacy until it was replaced by excitement.

"Why not, it'd be good for all three of you." She glanced over briefly to Lemy and Lyra.

"Uhhh…" Their uncle was clearly caught off guard by the suggestion and Lacy's hopeful eyes. "Yeah…I kind of promised Luan that Liby could come stay over in a few days…" He trailed off awkwardly. "Sorry." He added when Lacy looked crestfallen.

"Of course." Lynn sighed with a roll of her eyes. "We almost done here? I gotta go take a dump first."

"Mom, gross!" Her daughter was quick to call her out. Her niece and nephew looked disgusted too.

"Heh heh." Lynn seemed satisfied with the reaction she'd gotten out of the table and got up. Only her brother was unphased as he started loading everyone's trash onto a single tray to toss away.

"Sorry, Lacy." He said again. "I wouldn't mind having all of you over, I just really can't."

"It's fine." She didn't look that bothered by it. "I wouldn't want to be surrounded by that many people anyway. I don't know how you and mom did it." Her uncle shrugged.

"Well, we tried to kill each other a few times… often enough… once a week." Lacy snorted in amusement. "Maybe in a few weeks though, yeah?" He smiled at her.

"Deal!" Lacy agreed. He went to throw away and trash and once his sister came back they all left. It wasn't a very far drive from there to the apartment Lynn and Lacy lived in.

"See you around bro." Lynn gave her brother a hard punch on the shoulder before climbing out. Once Lacy got out of the backseat, she ran all the way around the car just so she could climb into the passenger seat and lean over to give her uncle a hug.

"See you around, kiddo." He patted her on the back. He sat there and watched the pair enter the apartment. Once they were out of sight, he yawned despite the summer sun still being high in the sky.

"Fun day, huh?" He remarked to his niece and nephew.

"It was pretty cool." Lemy tried to sound casual.

"It was." Lyra nodded.

"Question." Their uncle spoke to the two of them after close to a minute of silent driving. "Do you guys want to see Lucy and Lupa?"

"Is that an option?" Lyra asked. Lemy didn't looked like he cared about the prospect.

"Well, she called earlier." He told them. "There's usually a firework show on the edge of town every year for the 4th." He explained. "Their house is pretty close by and one of the balconies has a great view. She invited us to come watch."

"That's very nice of her." Lyra observed, although part of her was tempted to ask if it had been the call their uncle had declined earlier that day. True, he could've received it at any point in the day, but that instance had been suspicious. "I would like that."

"I guess." Lemy didn't sound excited.

"Odds are we'll be spending the night, too." He mentioned. Lemy seemed kind of annoyed at that.

"That's fine." Lyra answered.

"Great." Lincoln seemed pleased. "I'll tell her tomorrow." It was a good note to end the day on.

It was only six o clock when they got home, but all of them were tired. "I think we'll make this an early night." Lyra suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Lemy didn't argue.

"Alright then." Their uncle seemed relieved they wouldn't spend time taking space on the couch. "I think I'll hit the hay too." They went their separate ways. By the time Lyra and Lemy were done brushing their teeth, the light in the living room was already shut off.

Lyra said her nightly prayer, but noticed that instead of laying down Lemy was sitting up in the bed, seemingly waiting for her. "Yes?" She inquired as she sat down and swung her legs under the blanket.

"Can I ask you something?" He looked serious. She nodded and he continued. "You talked about people having to be committed to one person." Lyra raised an eyebrow but inside her stomach dropped. This still wasn't a subject she wanted to discuss with him. "And I was thinking about that story Aunt Lynn was telling us earlier." Lyra grew even more apprehensive. "Was mom not committed to Sam because she had you?" He asked.

Lyra was stunned. Of all the things she'd expected, it certainly wasn't that. Like the father subject, relationships weren't a subject Lemy showed any interest in understanding. He was too young, obviously. They didn't even see Sam that often.

She guessed this must've been a progression of thought process from what they'd discussed beforehand, as much as she'd wished he'd just forget about all of that. He was just thinking about those subjects and comparing them to what examples he'd had in his short life, which wasn't much.

But making wrong assumptions about things was part of growing up, Lyra knew. She just had to correct him. And while she was at it, hopefully steer him away from these subjects again.

"They're not together, Lemy." She tried to explain. "Mom and Sam are just really good friends. They have been since they were my age. Girls who are friends that long can be close and do things that a boy and girl who are friends can't."

"Really?"

"Yes." She confirmed.

"Stuff like holding hands and sleeping in the same bed?"

"Yes."

"Hugging all the time and calling each other girlfriend?" His tone was different now- skeptical.

"Some friends do that. That word can mean two things." She was still intent on removing the idea from his mind.

"Do some friends kiss and touch each other's butts?" He asked.

"Ye- What?" Suddenly more awake, Lyra sat up and looked over at her brother. "What did you just say?"

"Do friends kiss and touch each other's butts?" He repeated, and Lyra paled a little.

"Have you seen them doing that?" She asked quietly.

"A few times. That means they're together, doesn't it?" He asked again. Lyra inhaled sharply through her nose. She didn't think he'd lie about that.

She never thought they were together. Yeah, it looked like her mom pined after Sam, but Lyra had no idea the woman returned the feelings. She'd never see anything to imply it. But according to Lemy were. According to him, they were indecent in front of him, and that made her just a little bit angry.

"Yes." She admitted begrudgingly. "But they shouldn't be."

"Why not?" He asked. Lyra wasn't going to say 'Because it's a sin'. She'd had plenty of time in her life to think about things around her, including that particular trait of her mom. She thought she resented it more for the fact that, as far as she'd always known, her mother only took that path after not being able to deal successfully with men. Blaming something else and lying to herself after the fact. Like a few other things Lyra thought, that wasn't exactly fair.

Although tonight's revelation had only thrown her into confusion. If things really went back that far between the two, she realized her mom probably…'wasn't picky'… when it came to romance. Then again, maybe her interest wasn't real considering the two of them were around. Such deep pondering were not something she intended to discuss with her little brother though.

Fortunately, she didn't have to; Lemy got bored of that question and went back to his original one.

"So mom wasn't faithful to Sam?" He asked.

"…Yes." Lyra admitted. If they had been together way back then, her being born would've torn it completely asunder. She'd say permanently, but apparently not. She didn't know Sam enough to judge the woman's mind set, but Lyra recognized she couldn't be very smart if she was still with her mom after not one but two kids.

Lemy turned to down for a moment before turning back to her. For the second time that night, he stunned her with another unexpected question.

"What's a dyke?" He asked.

"Excuse me?" Lyra blustered, going red in the face.

"Me and Uncle Lincoln walked down to that store to get snacks while you were at church the other day." He told her. "The owner was there. He seemed surprised I was mom's kid and he called her a dyke. "If she'd been peeved before, she was bordering on furious. Her angry was as much for someone speaking like that in front of a child as it was her mom being insulted unfairly.

"That's a very mean word you should never say again. I mean it." She warned with a pointed finger, and he actually flinched. But she figured she should tell him anyway. "Some people don't think girls should…like other girls. That word's an insult to girls who do." Now that the revelation his mom had been insulted dawned on him, Lemy looked angry too.

"You need to go to sleep." She'd answered enough of his questions to hopefully sate him. It was time to put an end to this talk. While he sat in silent anger, she used the moment to lay down and pull the covers up to her neck. He closed her eye and turned her back to her brother to further stifle any conversation. She eventually heard him do the same, and although it'd take a while for her to simmer down enough to get to sleep, she thought it was over.

How wrong she was.

"It takes a boy and girl to have a kid, doesn't it?" He asked. Lyra stiffened.

"Yes. Now go to sleep." She told him.

"Two girls can't do that, can they? Do you think that's why he was surprised?"

"No, they can't, so probably yes. Go to sleep." She repeated. Curt answers were usually enough to get him to realize he should drop a conversation. Lyra didn't always like using that tactic, but it worked. Usually.

"How come?"

"You'll know when you're older." She told him.

"How much older?" He asked.

"Much older." Lyra told him, although she stopped to consider it for a moment.

She'd learned about it when she was one 10, a year older than he was now. The Bible wasn't a crass book, but it did mention procreation, not that Lyra had understood it then. So she'd asked her mom, and Luna had decided this was the opportune moment to give her daughter the talk about sex, dating, and 'the women's curse' she'd soon face.

Quite a lot to drop on a 10-year-old girl. But she had a reason to know that stuff. Lemy didn't and was unaware, as he should be. She may have been wrong before, but Lyra was 100% certain he didn't have any knowledge about the subject of procreation. At worst, since there'd been a few 'incidents' over the years, he knew what a girl looked like naked. But that was it. And she intended to keep it that way. "Go to sleep." Silence for a few seconds.

"Why do-" Lyra rolled over and pulled him close to her.

"Shh." She had a trick for nights like this- a night when he wouldn't go to sleep. Sure, it had worked better when he was six or seven, but she was sure it was still viable. She hooked a leg over his and used a free hand to pull the blanket tight against them. The trick was to literally cuddle him to sleep by making it so warm and comfortable he couldn't fight it.

As she'd expected, the trick used to stop a little boy trying to stay up waiting for his mom worked just as well stopping him from trying to ask awkward questions. He struggled for a moment but quickly realized how comfortable it was. He did narrow his eyes at her, a 'I know what you're doing' expression. But he still gave in and closed them after that. It was still a few minutes before she heard the steady breathing of him sleeping though.

One day, she knew she'd have to really would have to explain these things to him in more detail. She didn't want him going through the same struggle she had when she had to figure it all out and understand for herself all the messed-up elements in their lives. That sort of mental crisis.

One day, but not today. For today, and hopefully many more days after today, he was still her innocent and naïve baby brother.


	11. Chapter 11

At least twice during any visit to relatives, Lyra would call her mother to check on her. It was just a welfare check, to make sure she wasn't in jail or something equally bad in the absence of her children. Or so Lyra always told herself. Lemy could talk to her too, which gave them a break from the bad mood he tended to develop after too long away.

So before they left to go visit Lucy and Lupa, Lyra asked her uncle to borrow his cell phone and headed into the bedroom to make the call. She selected the contacts and her finger hovered over her mother's name. Then she hesitated, a sudden urge coming over her she knew was wrong but she really wanted to oblige. A few taps brought up the call history. Just a few days ago was that call her uncle had got in the car that caused an awkward moment. It was listed, and so was the name of the call sender next to it: Lucy. Her hunch had been right.

Feeling guilty over her snooping, Lyra quickly got on with what she'd meant to do. She hit the dial button next to her mother's name and brought the phone up to her ear and waited. It was after noon, so her mother should be up. Should. The dial tone carried on for a few seconds before being replaced with her mother's.

"Heeey bro." Her voice was slow and slurred. "What's going on?" Great, probably drunk.

"It's me, mom." Lyra sighed.

"Oh, Lyra!" And suddenly her mom's voice was clear and loud. Or as much as her normal speech was. "What's going on, dudette?"

"Is this a bad time?" She asked. She could only guess by the first line she'd caught her waking up.

"Nah bruh, it's cool. I'm just on the bus about an hour out from Vegas. What's going down?" Well, she wasn't drunk or in trouble yet, but she expected she should call tomorrow morning just the check.

"We're going out to visit Aunt Lucy and Lupa later. They invited us to watch a firework show at their house tonight."

"Nice." Her mom said. "You dudes having fun over there?"

"A lot. Just a few days ago we went to the pool with Liby, Lacy, and their moms." She thought for a moment. "Aunt Lynn kept throwing her brother in the pool." That made her mom laugh. "Although Lacy and Lemy wouldn't stop fighting with each other."

"Kids will be kids, dude. They got to burn off energy." It was pretty obvious to her their antics weren't just playing, but she didn't feel like arguing this morning.

"I guess." She played along. She hesitated on her next words, conflicted on the appropriateness of what she was about to say. "Can I ask you something?" Her curiosity was too much. She'd resolved to demand answers from her mom about the family, and this was an opportunity even if it wasn't face to face.

"Yeah?" Her mom sounded nonchalant. Lyra ended up not only asking her question, but blurting out most of the curiosities that had been bugging her the past few weeks.

"Is there a rift between you or any of our aunts? Aunt Lynn seemed to be pretty mad when Aunt Lucy called our uncle, and Lacy didn't know who Lupa was. And I realized none of our aunts seem to keep in contact even though they live close to each other. I just found it all odd."

A very unusual silence followed her words. Both females on each end of the line were silent for close to half a minute, but Lyra thought she could hear her mother inhale. She sat down on the bed while she waited for a response.

"That's a pretty heavy question, dudette." Her mom said at last, her voice lacking the energy and volume it'd had at the start of the call. "Why are you asking?"

"Because," Lyra couldn't help but make her voice slightly demanding, and she corrected it to something calmer before continuing. "I'm seeing all these pictures and hearing all the stories about how close you all were to each other and your parents and I just can't understand what happened to it."

"That's our business, Lyra." Her mother sounded defensive, commanding. Very unusual.

"They're our family too- Lemy and me!" She couldn't stop herself from snapping the retort. There'd been more then just curiosity to her interest. That bitter envy she admitted she might have felt a little bit of over what they could've had in their lives was greater than she was willing to admit.

"That's just life, dude." Her mother tried to explain. "You leave the nest and choose your path and find out it doesn't come close to the rest of the family a lot." It was similar to what her brother had said, but this time it just sounded like an excuse to Lyra.

"Your brother doesn't seem to have a problem keeping in contact with everyone." She pointed out. She heard her mother audibly sigh over the line.

"A lot of those stories and pictures were a long time ago, dude." Her mother reasoned.

"That doesn't explain what happened." And then Lyra admitted to her mother and herself why she was so hooked on this subject. "I can still remember my grandparents and everyone being together. All our lives would be so much better if things were still like that. I just want to know why they aren't."

Her mother was dead silent.

"Did it have anything to do with us?" Lyra finally asked. "Did us being born have anything to do with it?" That was still her theory- all the teen pregnancies and single motherhood fractured everything.

"No." Her mother spoke again, sounding adamant. "You guys didn't do anything. A lot of us made some stupid decisions back then." She stated the obvious. "We ruined things for ourselves... And I guess for you dudes too." She admitted. Lyra exhaled. There was the truth, straight from her mother's mouth. She thought she should be angry, but the conversation was just plain depressing. "I'm sorry, Lyra."

"It can't be helped now." She still couldn't be angry. "And I'm sorry for bringing this up."

"You're cool. Sometimes you got to make your voice be heard." Her mother seemed understanding.

"I just feel like I'm owed an explanation."

"Totally, dude." Her mom agreed willingly in a stark contrast to her earlier defensiveness. "But the phone's not the right place." Lyra could agree with her on that. "When I come to pick you guys up, I'll give you the full story, deal?"

"Okay." Lyra agreed. "I'll hold you that."

"I know you will." Her mother sounded amused for just a second. "If you want to know the truth, I'll tell you. But Lyra? You guys are way more important to me then they are. I just want you to know that." A big happy family with siblings all around and she'd rather have them…

"I understand, mom."

"Err…Lemy hasn't been getting curious about the same things, has he?" Luna asked.

"Well, not those things exactly…"

"But…" Her mom saw ahead. Lyra sighed and told her, while leaving out the unflattering things she'd said, her conversation with her uncle, Lemy overhearing, and the conversation that followed. Her mother listened tensely.

"You gotta be more careful." She told her when she was done. "He's too young for that stuff."

"I know." Lyra felt she deserved that criticism.

"But you did good." Luna went on. "Can you put him on the phone? I want to talk to him."

"Okay, I'll go get him." Lyra stood up and took a step towards the door before stopping. "One last question," She brought the phone back up to her ear. "Are you and Sam really together?"

"Ehhhhhhh."

"Nevermind." Lyra decided. "I'll go get Lemy." She left the bedroom and went out into the living room where Lemy was watching TV. "Mom wants to talk to you." She held out the phone. He snagged it and darted for the bedroom. Lyra watched him go before collapsing on the couch, muting the noise of the TV.

"How's your mom doing?" Her uncle asked without looking up for his sketch. He'd been hurriedly scribbling all morning, probably trying to fill a quota before taking the rest of the day off.

"She's fine. She's going to be spending the 4th of July in Las Vegas."

"Lucky her." Lincoln chuckled. "Well, we can't beat that, but we'll still have fun." He glanced over at his clock. It was just after three o' clock. "We can leave in an hour." He decided and continued his work.

Lyra stayed there on the couch and thought about the conversation she'd just had with her mom. She'd get the answers she wanted, at least. She was surprised by how readily her mom offered them. She realized that aside from asking to visit her grandparents when she was little, neither her or Lemy had really ask a lot of questions. Would she have gotten them if she'd asked last year? Or any year before that? Then again, she never got the urge to question it till just recently.

Lemy came back and handed her the phone back. "She wants to talk to you." He flopped down beside her but didn't turn the volume back up.

"Mom?"

"Hey dude." She'd gotten the pep back in her voice. "You guys have fun at Lucy's. Don't get spooked too much."

"We won't. And mom? Please be safe."

"Don't worry about your mum. I always get home in one piece."

 _Not really._ "You do, just be careful."

"You got it. I love you guys.

"Love you too, mom. Bye." She ended the call and brought the phone down. Lemy had watched her the whole time. She went over to return her uncle's phone to him before coming back over to the couch. By that point, Lemy had turned the tv volume back on, and then up a little.

"What did you and mom talk about?" He asked quietly.

"I asked her how she was." She answered, but wondered if their mother had said anything about those subjects despite sharing her daughter's dismay he was asking about them. "What did you talk about?" Lemy looked back a the tv screen.

"I'll tell you later." He mumbled. Lyra nodded. She'd get her answer tonight, she knew.

Later that evening

You know how you can look at any group of random strangers and at least one will stick out to you? One or more people who just seem specifically distinct among the rest? A peculiar appearance or an aura? One who you can't help but have an odd curiosity about? Lupa Loud was one of those people. The nine-year-old's snow-white hair made her stand against her peers in elementary school, to say nothing of other people. Her dull, monotone voice whenever she spoke was just another distinguishing oddity. She had a reputation as 'that weird kid'.

Her hair, as she was told and constantly had to insist to teachers and other students, was just that color naturally. Something that ran in the family, apparently. As for her personality? Children imitated what they knew, and Lupa by and large only knew her mother. Her full reputation title actually was 'that weird kid with the creepy mom'.

An apt description. Lucy Loud was indeed a creepy woman. Tall, foreboding, dressed usually in black, and also speaking in a monotone. That was what Lupa had to imitate. She didn't see other kids outside of school, owing to living on the edge of town. In a spooky old house, no less. That definitely kept people away.

That'd been Lupa's mother's choice. It was haunted by ghosts, she said. That woman was fascinated with the occult, among other dark things. She said she enjoyed talking with them, and that apparently overrode more important features like utilities that didn't break every month and general structural soundness. But she'd negotiated with them to avoid haunting the bedrooms and bathrooms, so it was all good, she guessed. An old house like this was probably cheap for a single mother too. When doom and gloom was all she had, of course Lupa was going to adopt some of it. And with so much exposure to the more definitive parts of human life from her mother's blunt way of talking and her writings, she was a little wise beyond her years.

Not that it was ALL doom and gloom; her mother had gotten her some Princess Pony books when she was little- very girly. But teetering from one extreme to the other wasn't any better. She did know other people though. Her uncle, for instance, since she was four. He'd lived with them for close to a year. He was actually normal, although kind of a nerd. She kind of missed him, even if she didn't remember that year clearly. Her mother's approach to parenting was very hands off. So to have an adult interested in you (and not just because the state paid you to be) was actually nice. They visited each other every so often.

She had two cousins, but she was no where near as close to them. One had her mind on the superstitious just like her mother did, just looking up instead of down, and the other was a try hard. Lupa knew their kind well from school. But Lemy was amusing, at least. Definitely very different despite being the same age. Their mother- Lupa's aunt- wasn't too different from her son, or so Lupa thought. Not exactly people you take after.

So her life boiled down to a shoddy house, a distant mother, and only family for contact. And you know what? Lupa thought that wasn't all that bad.

Yeah, her mother was a little weird, but she actually kind of respected her for that. She saw her cousin trying to be cool. She saw plenty of kids at school trying to be cool. Her mother did what she wanted regardless of what other people thought, and Lupa admired that. That was something she would like to be. Besides, all the times she'd had her mom with her at school functions, it'd been so funny to see everyone else, even the teachers, be scared of her, so maybe slightly copying her clothing style was intentional.

And it wasn't like they didn't get along. They talked, they ate together, they both enjoyed messing with Lincoln and Lyra and Lemy when they came to visit. Her mother always got her the clothes she wanted. Lupa would read her book drafts or play second hand when she used a Ouija board. Neither were expressive people, but there was love there.

They were doing something together a little different from the usual today- cooking. When you had to cook for only yourself and one child, you weren't exactly a master cook, but Lucy was good enough in that department. Lupa wasn't picky either. Most nights were something that came from a box, like macaroni or pasta. On the rare occasion they would afford it, it was meats. That was where her mother showed the most skill- she liked hers rare, but not enough to be unhealthy.

Tonight was a lot of meat- hamburgers and hotdogs, and a lot of other foods that one would associate with the 4th of July. It must've been because they were having company. Normally they didn't acknowledge the day- neither were exactly interested in a holiday that's express purpose seemed to be an excuse for people to drink or blow themselves up with fireworks.

Maybe her mother secretly did like the holiday, because after it was over she wondered out loud if the graveyards were any fuller.

She certainly liked having company over. Lupa could tell because her mother had actually put on a dress that day. It was a black sleeveless one. She only ever put that one on when her brother, Lupa's uncle, came over to visit. She'd spent quite a bit of time cleaning up the house too, almost enough to make a dent in the run down aura it carried.

As far as Lupa knew, her uncle was the only one of mom's family who stayed in reliable contact with her. Well, aunt Luna must've talked to her since her kids came over sometimes, but Lincoln was the only one who ever visited. Ten siblings and he was the only one she hadn't entirely scared off, or so Lupa assumed. She didn't know why the rest of the family didn't talk to mom, but it wasn't hard to see the many possible reasons why.

And speak of the devil, they were here; the sound of the old fashioned brass knocker pounding against the front door reached them all the way in the kitchen. Lupa's mom immediately stopped what she was doing and walked out to the front hallway where the door was. The front hallway was expansive, with a staircase to the second floor and a doorway to a hallway that lead to every other room on the first floor. Lupa leaned against the side of that doorway.

Lucy had a habit of scaring people. Her daughter could never unravel how, but people never seemed to notice her moving until she was right on top of them or spoke up. Despite the fact that she had to open the front door, Lincoln, Lyra, and Lemy were talking about something and didn't notice till Lucy greeted them, upon which they all noticeably started.

Lupa smirked as her uncle patted his heaving chest before her mom pulled him into a hug he was quick to return before all three of them came in.

Lyra politely greeted Lucy. Lupa recognized it as that kind of politeness you use just so people don't think you're rude. Lemy got by with a 'hey' before glancing over at her and waving. Lupa didn't bother responding back.

After greetings were exchanged, Lyra and Lemy headed upstairs to leave their things in their guest bedroom. The room they always stayed in was right next to Lupa's bedroom. There was actually a bathroom in between them that connected both. All the bedrooms were on the second floor, including hers, moms, and two that were unoccupied unless their cousins were visiting.

"Hello." Her older cousin nodded at her as she spotted her. That was pretty much the only interactions they had- niceties. She'd given up trying to hold conversations with her. Lyra was kind of like their uncle- staying nice to people even if they were a little hard to deal with. He may have visited, but some of the stuff her mom did bothered him, Lupa could tell. Not bad, but Lupa still didn't connect well with overly superstitious people. Maybe if the older girl got off her high horse.

But now that they were gone…

Lupa walked over to the doorway where her mom and uncle were still talking. "Hey Lupa." Lincoln stopped and knelt down slightly when he saw her. "How are you doing?" He pulled her into a hug.

"Still alive." She kept her arms at her side till he gave her a little squeeze and only then did she return the hug.

"Come on, you gotta give me something more positive then that."

"Hmm. Nope. Nothing comes to mind."

"I'm not letting you go until I get an answer."

"Oh fine." Lupa played along and rolled her eyes. "I'm having a fun summer."

"That's nice." He let her go. That was the little game they always played. He tricked to tease and bribe her to not be so doom and gloom, and she'd pretend to resist for a little while before giving in. She guessed he was trying to keep her from falling in the extreme like her mother. Lupa liked her mother enough to copy her to a degree, but she definitely wasn't going to go into full, loony, talking to ghosts territory.

But she appreciated that he cared.

"We made dinner for everyone." Her mom told him, grabbing onto his arm and leading towards the kitchen further back in the house. Lupa followed.

"Wow." He sounded genuinely impressed. "That's a lot of food." All of it was already cooked and about ready to be served once someone carried it to the dining room.

"Freshly slaughtered." Lupa explained.

"I picked the ones with the furthest expiration dates." Her mother confirmed.

"Good job, girls." He didn't miss a beat on them trying to mess with him and put a hand on both their backs.

"I'll finish it and then we can eat." Lucy stepped forward to get back to work, Lupa did too, but her mom sent her away. "I'll take care of it. Keep our guests entertained." So Lupa shrugged and left. Her uncle had gone down the hall and into the living room, sitting down on the old couch. Lupa slumped down next to him.

He looked from the floor to the old wooden tables and then to the old boxy tv that decorated the room. "You guys cleaned up." He observed.

"I liked it the old way."

"Sure you did." Her uncle kept looking around, his eyes locking on the row of portraits and pictures Lupa's mom had hung or pasted on the wall behind the couch. One was of the house's previous owner- her mom claimed it was 'haunted' so she wanted to keep it. One was of Lupa's Great Great Grandmother Harriet, someone her mother had looked up too. Some were posters of fictional characters; her mother REALLY liked reading fiction series in her time. One of a family picture of her and all her siblings.

And smack dab in the middle of it all was a drawing of a cat Lupa had made when she was four. Her uncle drew comics (geeky interests must run in the family) and when he'd been living here she'd climb in his lap often while he was working and try and draw too. That was one such product, and her mom had decided to hang it up. Lincoln liked to look at it every time he came over.

It was embarrassing as hell.

"I should burn that." Lupa mused out loud.

"You wouldn't." Her uncle challenged playfully.

"I could."

"But you won't."

"I may."

"You can't even reach it."

"I can stand on a chair."

"That'd be cute. Make sure to have your mom take a picture and send it to me if you do." He patted her white hair.

"You're a dork." She snorted. Her cousins walked in just then. Lemy was trailing close to his sister. He denied it if you asked, but Lupa was pretty sure he'd bought into the haunted house nonsense her mom always talked about. He always stuck close to his (sensible and unbelieving) sister and would spend as much time outside as he could manage. It was no wonder Lupa only played along with her mother when they were visiting- it was always funny.

"Hey guys. Lucy's finishing dinner." Their uncle said as they sat down- Lyra in a chair and Lemy on the end of the coach away from Lincoln and Lupa.

"So how's your summer been?" Lyra asked.

"Eh." That was the only answer Lupa bothered to give. Lyra would have dropped it then with a curt nod. But Lyra wasn't the only one there.

"Come up, something had to have happened." Her uncle insisted. "No boyfriends or anything?"

"Shut up." Lupa shoved his shoulder while trying not to smirk. "A few stray cats have been wandering into the yard and mom's been feeding them."

"Black cats?" He guessed.

"Some." Lupa answered. "I think mom's getting a head start of being a crazy cat lady." Lemy chuckled at the end of the couch. Lincoln rolled his eyes at her playful snark.

"You're an evil little thing."

"That's why she's perfect." Lucy's monotone voice drifted into their ears and they all jumped. There was an audible crash as Lyra fumbled her bible and it hit the hardwood. Lupa's mom had walked up right in front of all of them without any of them noticing. Lupa was normally averse to that trick, but her immunity seemed to wear off whenever she was with someone else.

"Dinner's ready." She told them. They all tried, painfully obviously, not to look shook as they stood up and followed the lady of the manor to the dining room. It and the library were the only rooms that seemed to always be clean, although it made sense since they ate here.

"Awesome." Lemy looked at the selection. Everything was set up in the middle of the table. Her mom had even gotten some black candles (of course they were black) casting a bit of extra light.

Everyone sat down and started taking from the selection, Lincoln and Lemy piling their plates while the girls took more meagre helpings.

"So how's your next book coming along?" Lincoln asked his sister. He was seated on one side of the table with her and Lupa on either side while Lemy and Lyra sat on the opposite side.

"I'm still working on the draft." Lupa's mom wrote three different series, all related to the supernatural in some form- vampires, werewolves, whatever.

Two of them were for the teenage demographic, and popular enough to at least keep mom's publication deal and bring in money. One was about a ghost guiding her daughter through life, teenage drama or what adults thought that was. The other was about supernatural creatures living among humans, an old concept but one Lucy made work. Just out of curiosity, Lupa checked her uncle's computer last time she visited and discovered they had a big following online, with people making art and writing their own stories about it. Most of their work was terribly and creepy.

The last series was marketed for adults she wrote under pseudonym. Lupa wasn't supposed to know about that one, but she'd sneaked some of her mom's drafts. Dark romance, forbidden love, people hiding from society. One of those drafts had had probably the only thing to ever make Lupa's stomach churn.

There was a reason she was wise beyond her years.

"What about your comics?" She asked back.

"One of the websites shut down. But I'm still getting plenty of commissions." He said. "All those summer movies really helped."

"Maybe someone will want to turn my books into movies someday." Her mother dreamed out loud in monotone.

"Maybe- they are good." Lincoln assured.

Lupa's mom and uncle were a real dork duo.

"So when's the firework show start?" Lemy asked through a mouthful of cheeseburger.

"Not for another three or four hours." Their uncle responded. "The sun doesn't start setting until 8 o clock. They'll probably start a little before then."

"Did all of you guys use to watch it every year?" Lyra asked.

"All of us? No." Lincoln shook his head. "There was a show in the city too. But Bobby would bring your aunt Lori out here to watch, and your mom came with some of her friends. She even invited me out here one year."

"You took me." Lucy said. Lincoln nodded.

"Yeah, we watched it together one year. I thought about taking some of my younger sisters to see it, but Lucy was the only one to accept." He looked a little creeped out suddenly. "And because she was the only one, she managed to convince me to let her choose where to watch it from."

"We watched it from the graveyard down the road." Lupa saw something incredibly rare just then- rarer even than an honest politician or a chaste priest: a small smile on her mother's lips. "It was nice."

"Yeah... 'Nice'." Lincoln shuddered visibly. Lyra looked slightly offended and Lemy weirded out. Something Lupa had always observed- her uncle was very easily swayed to what other people wanted. She'd seen her mother do it and imitated her on that too.

The girls got done eating first- Lincoln and Lemy seemed willing to stuff their faces for a little while longer. With time to burn, Lupa went to do the only practical thing available in this house: watch television for a little while. Twenty minutes later her mom and uncle had gone to talk about whatever adults talked about. Lyra had stayed in the living room long enough to question the low quality but clearly mature made for tv horror movie her younger cousin had turned on, but she left too. That left Lupa alone until Lemy got done and came to flop onto the couch next to her.

"What are you watching?" He asked.

"Some dumb horror movie." Lupa shrugged. Dumb was the right word for it. All of the line deliveries sounded off and camera work was terrible. But at least the blood looked entertaining. Lemy looked a little pale as dumb bimbo #2 took a machete to the face.

"So, excited for that fireworks show?" He asked, his voice cracking a little. Lupa smirked.

"Thrilled." Lupa did a good imitation of her mom's monotone.

"Must be cool living somewhere where you can watch it every year."

"We usually don't." Lupa revealed, and Lemy seemed surprised. "I think we're only doing it because you guys are visiting. It's pretty pointless holiday."

"Pointless? It's awesome!" He insisted.

"Sure." Lupa drawled.

"Well, I'm excited! This is the coolest thing uncle Lincoln's taken us to do. He's kind of awesome."

"'Awesome'?" Lupa repeated. "He's a good guy." He was still a dork. But he was the only person willing connect with either her or her mom.

"Yeah. Didn't really think he was when I met him, but I think he's cool now."

"When'd you meet him?" Lupa asked. His wording made it sound like he just had. Lupa hadn't been that surprised that they were coming with their uncle; their mom dropped them off here of all places, so it wouldn't be a surprise if she dropped them on other family members.

"Just a few weeks ago. This is the first-time mom's sent us to stay with him." He told her. Really? That was weird. Send your kids to your creepy sister instead of your dorky brother.

"Huh." Lupa acknowledged.

"Yeah, and it's been ok fun. He lets me play video games all day." Oh great, Lemy was a dork too. "We've seen Lacy and Liby and gone to a pool and arcade too."

Lacy and Liby? Those names sounded familiar. No, they were. Lupa remembered- they were her aunt's kids, her cousins. She'd met them once, along with her mom's two sisters once. 6 or 7, she thought. Just that one time ago; apparently those two were too weirded out by her mom to visit.

Oh well.

"Yeah, he's fine to have around." Lupa agreed. She glanced sideways and it seemed like Lemy was going to say something, but decided against it. Speaking of their uncle, he came in just then and sat down at the other end of the couch.

"What are you guys watching." He asked, just in time to see the masked killer get set on fire. "Oh." He said.

"Yep." Lupa confirmed.

"Isn't there anything nicer on you guys could watch?"

"Probably." Lupa agreed but made no effort to check and see. Her uncle gave her a puppy dog look. "Oh fine." Lupa changed the channel to something only slightly less degenerate- reality television. Lemy complained it was boring, but Lupa didn't care.

She got up and walked paste her cousin before sitting down again next to her uncle. Lemy saw this, apparently got weirded out, and left to do his own thing. Good. Lupa didn't want him bothering her peace anyway. They passed time like that for the next while. Lyra wandered in, seemed to share her brother's opinion, and left. Good.

Before they knew it, the sun was setting and Lucy came to ask her brother for help getting some chairs to the balcony upstairs. It was on the third floor, the only one Lupa and her mom didn't use. That was where all the 'ghosts' stayed and her mom would venture up there with a flashlight randomly in the middle of the night. Probably just raccoons or something since her mom never bothered cleaning that floor.

For all they knew, the stairs up to it were a death trap. Apparently not, since Lincoln came back down and told the three of them standing there to come up. They did, and Lupa had to silently laugh at how close Lemy stayed to his sister's back as they walked past closed doors to 'haunted' rooms. A small split in the hallway led to the double class doors that led to the balcony.

It wasn't the first time Lupa has been here, but she appreciated the view still. She could see the large and unkempt yard surrounding the house, the two lane road that ran by it, and if she squinted in either direct, the other house and cemetery that they had as neighbors. The sky was a dim grey sunset with all the light still coming to the west.

They didn't have any fold up chairs, so her uncle had just hauled up five old heavy wooden ones. He'd also brought up a cooler full of drinks and snacks for them to enjoy during the show.

"Is this safe?" Lyra pressed her foot into the old wood beneath them.

"It's fine." Their uncle assured. "Come on, the show's about to start." He took a seat in one of the chairs and Lucy next to him. Lemy dragged one closer to the edge before parking himself. His sister likewise dragged hers up next to him. That left one chair for Lupa, but she didn't go to it. Instead, she hopped back onto her uncle's lap and twisted around so she was laying across her mom and her uncle's legs. Folding her hands behind her head in her uncles lap and letting her feet dangle across her mother's.

"Really?" Lincoln asked.

"Really." Lupa answered, looking straight up into his eyes. He relented and leaned back with a sigh.

A distant whistling caught their attention and everyone looked up just in time to see and explosion of red and green somewhere in the distance, bight enough for them to see all the way here.

"Cool!" Lemy yelled. That was just the start though, the show began in earnest and before too long the sky was full of fireworks of all colors and explosions of various patterns. Lupa watched along with the rest of her family members, drawn in by the bright and erratic colors what only got brighter as the sun set fully. The lights on in the hallway behind them kept the balcony just lit enough that they could see where they were placing their feet.

"This is the first fireworks show you've been to, isn't it?" Lincoln asked Lupa and she turned her head back to see him looking down at her.

"I guess it is." She didn't remember ever going to one.

"Having fun?" He asked.

"Maybe."

"You are, aren't you?" She thought she could see him grinning in the darkness.

"I said maybe." Lupa was trying her hardest to not smirk.

"We should start doing this every year." Lincoln looked over at his sister. Okay, Lupa thought, that sounded like it'd be nice. Her mother agreed, and a new tradition was formed over just a few words.

They kept watching the show, breaking out the snacks and drinks to enjoy. Lupa was actually starting to get comfortably and drowsy between the warm weather and the spot she was camped in. She, along with her uncle, suddenly jolted when they heard a door slam in the hallway behind them.

"What was that?" Lincoln craned his head around. Lupa lifted herself up to look over his shoulder.

"That was Gertrude. She likes to roam around at this time of night." Lucy said without a note of concern in her voice, or even looking back. They heard something else slam.

"That's creepy." Her uncle said uneasily.

"I'll go ask her to stop." Lucy gently moved out from under Lupa before heading back inside.

"You actually believe that stuff?" Lupa raised an eyebrow.

"Well…" Her uncle rubbed the back of his head. "Your mother may be on to something sometimes." Lupa rolled her eyes.

"Sure." Since her butt and legs were resting on a hard wooden surface now, she readjusted herself. She sat up in the chair her mother had vacated, got up, and then sat right back down in her uncle's lap.

"You're-

"I'm not too big for it yet." Lupa cut him off. Her uncle didn't argue, and Lupa got to enjoy that comfy spot for the rest of the night, even after her mom came back.

The next hour or two passed in a mix of bright flashes, fizzy drinks, and snacks till finally it came to an end. The firework show was over. The horizon dimmed down and the air only carried silence.

"Aww man." Lemy groaned.

"I wonder how many hurt themselves tonight." Lupa wondered out loud.

"Dozens, maybe. Some may have died." Her mother deadpanned. "Maybe some will be buried in the cemetery I can commune with."

"Ok, ladies, I think it's time for bed." Lincoln spoke up hopefully, and a slight smirk graced the lips of both Lupa and her mother. Lupa hopped off her uncle's lap.

"He's right." Lyra said. "Come on." She made her brother get up. The five entered the house and locked the balcony door closed behind them. Lupa yawned as she walked. Her room was on the second floor. After talking quietly with her mom behind her, her uncle came up behind her and effortlessly lifted her up and onto his shoulders.

"What are you looking at?" Lupa sneered when Lyra glanced back at them. She said nothing and turned to the front again. Lincoln carried her down stairs and down the hallway. Lyra and Lemy disappeared into their room, and Lupa's uncle carried her into hers.

He tried to pick her up off her shoulders, but she kept her legs locked just hard enough to make it difficult. "Come on, Lupa, its past your bedtime."

"Hmm, nah." She set her arms down on the top of his head and laid her head on them. "I think I'll stay right here."

"Oh really?" Her uncle challenged. He reached up and wiggled two fingers under her armpits. Lupa managed to keep from laughing, but she squirmed enough that he was successful in dislodging her. "Down you go." He put her on her bed.

Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

"Fine, I'll get ready for bed." She rolled her eyes like she didn't care. She got up and went over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of pajamas. She went in the bathroom and locked the doors before changing and hurrying back over to her bed.

She laid down with her hands behind her head. Her uncle pulled part of the cover from beneath and lifted it up before setting it down evenly across her. Once that was done, he started tucking it in under her.

"You know, I wonder when the day will come where I don't have to do this every time I come over."

"Never." Lupa informed him. He smiled.

"Alright then, good night." He leaned forward and gave her a peck on the forehead before standing up. "Try and have good dreams for once, alright? Nothing dark or grim."

"Not making any promises." Lupa smiled.

"Get some sleep, Lupa." He smiled and got up. She watched him walk over to her door and go into the hallway, shutting off the light as he did. Lupa listened to his footsteps on the old hallway floor as it got quieter and quieter till she was sure he'd gone down to the first floor. She kicked the covers off of her and got up.

She wasn't actually ready for bed; she needed to brush her teeth and use the toilet first. She'd just been waiting for that all day and was impatient.

The bathroom light was on under the door, and when she opened it Lyra and Lemy were already in there brushing their teeth. Lupa said nothing as she shouldered her way between them so she could reach her own tooth brush. She noticed her older cousin casting occasional glances at her in the mirror.

"Come on, Lemy." Once they were done, Lyra grabbed her brother's arm to pull him into the other bedroom. "Goodnight, Lupa." She wished.

"Uh-huh." The albino haired girl said through a mouthful of toothpaste. The door to their room closed behind them. Lupa finished up with that and what else she needed to do, when her ears picked something up.

 _Thump. Thump. Thump._ Some hammering noise echoed through the house before stopping. Lupa stood in the bathroom with her ears open but didn't hear it again. She shrugged to herself and returned to her room. Could just be her uncle crossing an old section of floor. Oh maybe one of the doors were opening and closing again; her mom would've said ghosts, Lupa would just blame uneven foundation.

 _Thump. Thump. Thump._

There it was again, and this time it didn't stop. The house usually didn't make this much noise. But she could deal with it. It made plenty of other noises depending on the weather. Lupa pulled back the sheets and prepared to climb into bed. Then she stopped. Like she said, Lemy always had been scared of this house. Around bedtime she'd always seen him cowering under the sheets. She could use a laugh before bed; she'd go see if he was still doing it.

She walked through the bathroom that connected both rooms. The door on their end was ajar, so she figured one of them must've come in after she left. Lyra was sitting up in the bed, head cocked to the side as the noise continued. There was a lump under the blankets huddled next to her that had to be Lemy. _Called it_. Still a big baby.

"Yes?" She couldn't escape being noticed by Lyra.

"Just looking for whatever was making that noise." Lupa lied. One of the benefits of having a flat tone was it was impossible for people to tell if you were lying or not. She got away with it.

"I was wondering that myself." She frowned. "Is that normally a problem?"

"Nope." Lupa shrugged. "Probably just one of the ghosts making noise." She smirked when the lump started fidgeting.

"Absurd." Lyra sniffed. "Probably just a draft or something." Lupa was sure she was trying to reassure her brother. "Both of you need to ignore it and go to bed." Yep, she was. Lupa shrugged and closed the door behind her as she returned to her room.

 _Thump. Thump. THUMP._ The noise suddenly died off. Lupa stopped to listen for a few seconds, but it didn't start up again. Whatever it was, it seemed to have stopped. Whatever. Lupa climbed into bed and closed her eyes. Noise or no noise, she was soon fast asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

Earlier that day

The year Lincoln had lived in this house was probably the year in his life with less sleep compared to the others. It was creepy. It was REALLY creepy. All the noises it made, all the cold drafts even in the middle of summer, and all the weird things had happened… It was a lot scarier when you experienced in person and not on TV. He had no idea how his kids didn't see it.

But Lucy loved it here. He'd offered to buy a two-room apartment so her and Lupa could move into the city with him, somewhere safer, but she'd declined. He wasn't surprised- she'd found her calling and what made her happy same as the rest of the family. And if he was honest a living arrangement like that might not have been sustainable and it would've just brought him into conflict with Luan and especially Lynn. Four years later, Lucy almost had this house paid off anyway.

Lincoln just really wished Lupa could grow up somewhere a little nicer.

After he finished eating he found Lucy in the library. Lucy put her book down and stood up as soon as he entered.

"Dinner was great." He said. "You really-" What he was about to say was cut off as she reached him and pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss before throwing her arms around his shoulder. Lincoln leaned right in and returned it, letting his hands drift into the small of her back. They broke for oxygen after a full minute.

"I missed you." She explained. It'd been more than a month since he last visited.

"Sorry." He said earnest. "I-"

"-busy." Lucy finished. "I know. You always are." Wasn't that the sad truth? Lincoln lamented as Lucy returned to her seat. He pulled up another old wooden chair and sat down beside her.

"Yeah. Lyra and Lemy have been here the last few weeks. I've been trying to get close with them when I can."

"Any success?" She asked. Lucy had always been a seemingly emotionless girl, and now she was seemingly emotionless woman. But Lincoln knew that wasn't true. She had a deep perception of human emotion. Very deep. She could understand when someone talked about how they felt, negative emotions especially. She was a good listener.

Lincoln could still remember when he'd first returned to Royal Woods, how she'd listened to him for hours and days on end lamenting and reflecting. Even now she was there for him.

"Yeah. I think they're starting to like me." Lincoln smiled slightly. "Lyra especially. I'm still amazed how she turned out. Luna told me how she was, but I didn't believe it till I saw it." The little girl he'd last seen 10 years ago was now a smart, kind, and passionate young woman. He had expected she'd be more like her mother, although he certainly wasn't mad or disappointed she wasn't.

Lucy nodded. Lyra had always been distinct from her mother, more like Lori then Luna.

"Lemy, he's definitely Luna's son. Luna said we was a nice little kid, but I haven't seen it. I think I'm too lame for him." Lincoln said ruefully.

"You're not lame."

"Compared to Luna, I am." He confessed. "But we're both into video games, so there's a start." He beamed. "They're great kids though, both of them. I'm so glad to have them back in my life."

"I'm happy for you." Lucy monotoned. Lincoln nodded.

"We're going to tell them." He told her.

"What?" Lincoln could detect that small difference in her sister's voice that betrayed surprise. "Tell them what?"

"Luna and I agreed…" Lincoln stared at his hands before looking up. "That we want to tell both of them the truth. Not Lemy, not yet. But when Luna comes to town, we're going to sit down with Lyra and tell her."

"Why?"

"Luna wants to. I want to too."

"When did you guys agree to this?" Lucy asked. Lincoln hadn't talked about this with anyone else yet, but he was itching to get it off his chest. Lucy would listen.

"I got her phone number from Luan three years ago and we started talking to each other again. But she kept dodging Lyra and Lemy when I brought them up. She wouldn't even send me a picture." He shook his head. "I guess she was still mad at me." And could he blame her after the way they'd parted in the first place?

"Then last April I found out she was coming to town to play. She didn't even tell me. So I got a ticket and went hoping I'd get a chance to talk to her in person." That he'd got to see her at all was the pure dumb luck that Sam had noticed him struggling to the front of the crowd and pointed him out to Luna. "Did she ever mention that?" Lucy shook her head. "We talked for a while and I begged to see them. She said they were in a different state."

Had Lincoln not been so into what he was saying, he might have caught Lucy's subtle reaction to that bit and deducted, correctly, that Lemy and Lyra had in fact been at this house at that time and Luna had lied to him.

"And we kept talking after that for another year. I kept asking to see them. And then two months ago she finally relented and said she'd agree on one condition."

"If you told them?" Lucy guessed.

"If we told them." Lincoln nodded. He looked at his hands again. "And I agreed."

"That could be dangerous." Lucy warned him. "You'll be exposing them to a darkness about their very existence they've never comprehended."

"I know." Lincoln realized that. He'd realized that from the first day they'd been there. It wasn't something they wanted to hear, Lemy especially. He had no idea how Lyra would react to it, since the girl clearly had conflicting views of her mother. She'd seemed to have given up the idea of having a dad altogether. But he'd wanted to see them, and he wanted nothing more for them- ALL of them- to know the truth.

He hoped this would be a start. He could talk to Leni and they could sit down with Liena. Luan and him could talk to Liby in a few years. Lacy- God, when she'd told him how much he meant to her, he'd almost broke down and told her right there and then. Soon, he hoped. Lupa may have been smarter then she should be, but she was still too young. One day though, just like the others.

"What exactly are you going to tell them?" Lucy asked.

"Just who I really am." He assured her. "Nothing about their cousins or what happened to the family. Lyra has been asking about that though." He confessed.

"She might figure it out." His sister warned.

"We don't think so." Lincoln shook his head. Again, Lyra clearly saw her mother had faults, so she probably didn't think it was impossible. But she still loved her. That gave him hope. She'd be disgusted, obviously, but she'd see through that for the good he was.

Right? But he was dedicated to doing this.

"It's Luna and your decision." Lucy decided. If she had reservations, she didn't say them. "But Lincoln," She reached over and grabbed his arm. "Please be careful." She was worried for him, and he didn't blame her. If this went wrong, it would go terribly wrong. But he wasn't going to falter.

"I will." He promised. "Trust me, Lucy, I'm not planning to ruin anything."

That night

Lyra retired for the night with an odd feeling in her heart. The day had reminded her a lot of when Lacy first came to visit. Aunt Lucy and Lupa were slightly different people around their uncle. Her aunt actually seemed animated; usually, she gave off a good impression of a statue. And Lupa, as Lyra as witnessed, was capable of being more than a snarky girl that knew more then she should. She acted like an actual girl her age!

Lemy and Lupa were the same age along with the slightly similar attitudes, something Lyra thought about more and more about as the day went on, and apparently something her brother noticed too since he looked bothered whenever he saw their uncle and cousin interacting. It made sense when you considered how long their uncle had known Lupa compared to them, but the contrast was a little jarring.

She'd wondered if Lemy would be different then he was now if they'd known their uncle longer. She intended to ask her mother when she saw her next month why she had never sent them to stay with him before now. But that was a month away. Speaking of her mother…

"So what did you and mom talk about?" She asked her brother. Lupa had gone back to her room and the strange thumping noise had subsided. Lemy poked his head out from under the blanket.

"She told me not to be mean to you or our uncle and not to listen in on other people's conversations." He confessed in shame.

"Good." Lyra murmured, curling protectively around him. He'd never admit it, but she knew he was uneasy in his house. This house was the only place he didn't make a conscious effort to sleep away from her.

"Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize." He couldn't possibly have ignored the things he overheard. She knew was partly at fault for talking about it where he could overhear her.

"She said I should tell you thanks, so…thanks." He said unsurely. _Thank your sister for raising you during the times I wasn't_. She assumed.

"You don't have to thank me either." She told him. "I'm just doing everything I should be." Now he seemed confused. Their mom had told him something, and now Lyra was brushing off the significance of it.

"Just remember what she told you, okay?" She cleared it up for him.

"Okay." And then, more quietly, "I'm glad you're around." Lyra smiled and pulled him closer.

"And I'm glad I have you." She told him. "Now go to sleep." She was tired, but she stayed awake long enough to hear his breathing lapse into a slower and steady rhythm before letting herself drift off.

 _Thump. Thump. Thump._ The sound was starting up again. But Lyra was used to falling asleep in hotels close to highways. She could fall asleep despite it, and she did.

They all got to sleep in. It'd be past midnight when they finally went to bed and they were all tired. Even Lyra's habit of rising early didn't keep her from sleeping till just after 10 the next morning. Even then she was still a little tired.

The house was still and no one else was up, so after getting dressed Lyra decided to return to the warm bed for another half hour before she heard stirring. The creaking of floor boards and a door opening and closing close by. It must've been Lupa in the other room. The sound of running water from the bathroom between the rooms confirmed it.

From past experience, their aunt rose later in the day, sometimes as late as noon. Most mornings the three youths would be up and eat breakfast on their own before they even saw the raven-haired woman.

Sure enough, Lyra leaned out of her doorway into the hall and saw Lupa emerge from her bedroom still in her pajamas and sporting a bed head. That was as much as a Que to start the day as any.

"Good morning." She bid.

"Uh huh." Her cousin said back. Lyra glanced behind her to see Lemy was still in bed and decided to leave him. The two girls walked downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. The selection their aunt had was meagre. Lupa filled a bowl with cereal and milk and just sat it on the counter and started eating there. Lyra made one for herself and prepared to head for the dining room.

"Your brother said this is the first time you visited Lincoln?" Lupa asked before she got out of the room.

"Hmm?" Lyra stopped. "Yes, it's the first time."

"Huh." Lupa said uninterestedly through a mouthful of cereal. "Maybe she doesn't like him." She idly suggested. Her mom didn't like her brother? Lyra couldn't see how or why; he was such an inoffensive man. And besides, she'd said nothing but good things about him. She was wondering why, but that couldn't have been it.

"I highly doubt that." She said sternly. "Maybe she just thought he was always too busy to watch us." All her aunts worked, but her uncle outdid all of them except for maybe Lori. Did she know how busy he was helping with Lacy, Liby, and Lupa? Or maybe it had been entirely because he didn't have a kid; part of their send offs was so they could be with people their age.

"Busy raising his sisters' kids, you mean?" Lupa guessed, stunning Lyra with her age inappropriate wisdom. "Your brother mentioned Lacy and Liby yesterday too."

Speaking of her brother, he came down still in shorts and a t-shirt during the stunned silence. He noticed there seemed to be a girl talk happening and made fast to get his food and leave for the living room to watch tv before he could hear it.

"Yes, well…" Lyra said once he'd left. Lupa may have been wise beyond her years, but Lyra wasn't going to entertain any discussions about mature matters with her. Although she didn't miss the fact Lupa seemed to realize what he was doing. "That's nobodies' business but his own."

"It is." Lupa actually agreed with her. The smart thing at that moment would've been to disengage from the conversation. Aside from not discussing appropriate matters, anything they did talk about would surely lead to a disagreement.

Lyra didn't do the smart thing.

"You don't seem to have any complaints about it." She'd meant it as a neutral observation. By the way Lupa sneered at her, it was misconstrued as an insult. The small albino snapped back at her, changing the subject.

"At least my mom isn't a drunk." Lyra's face flushed red with anger and she set her breakfast down on the counter.

"Do NOT talk about my mother." Lyra said first. "And do not get angry with me. I haven't insulted you or your mom." Lupa's sneer started to lessen. "I was just saying…"

"I like having him around. So what?" This was not the normal Lupa. Normal Lupa was flat in her jabs. This Lupa was aggressive.

Just like Lacy…

"I never said that's a bad thing. I'd be glad to have him around in your shoes."

"My shoes?" Lupa looked unamused. "Why don't you focus on being the girl with the lousy mom and I'll focus on being me, okay?" Maybe she had unintentionally insulted her cousin somehow.

Again, she could've walked away. But Lyra didn't.

"There's nothing wrong with that though." She told Lupa the same thing she'd told Lacy. "It's a good thing, given the circumstances."

"Hmph." But her younger cousin seemed to be defrosting.

"He's trying to be the same for us, and I'm grateful."

"Mommy issues AND daddy issues." She ignored that jab too. But upon saying that, Lupa looked a little more thoughtful. "Yeah, he nice to have around though." She conceded, although her tone suggested he was just that- a nicety.

Lyra was certain that wasn't true though. All her cousin's actions last night- the hugs, the leaning, the shoulder ride- were a clear indication of how she really felt. She was just a little more dedicated to not admitting it.

And Lyra wouldn't press her. They both realized the truth. In fact, there was comprehension in both their expressions as they faced each other. Lyra was sure at that moment, for perhaps the first time, the two were having a mutual understanding. And also for the first time, Lupa seemed to be looking at her with something more than complete indifference.

The moment died quickly as the girls heard heavy footsteps coming from the hallway.

"Good morning." Their uncle greeted as he entered the kitchen already dressed for the day. He tussled Lupa's hair as he passed her, prompting her to swat at his hand. The white-haired girl got up and decided to leave too to avoid his games.

"Good morning." Lyra responded politely. She wondered if he'd ask what they were talking about. But he didn't. He just started looking through the fridge and cupboards for his own breakfast to have. So she decided to turn to hers that she'd neglected for the conversation.

"Lyra!" Lemy shouted through the first floor, sounding excited. "Mom's on TV!"

Oh no.

It was hard to say who got up and ran to the living room faster: Lyra or her uncle. Lemy and Lupa were both standing in front of the tv, and Lyra stopped in front of her bother as to block his view. The channel was set to one of those celebrity gossip shows, those disgusting things. And just as Lemy had said, there was their mom.

She was dressed in something skimpy and clearly at a party. The camera got a good look at her, but only because she was actively approaching it and the feed got cut off as she suddenly swiped it out of the hands of whoever was holding it.

"She attacked another paparazzi." Lyra realized in relief, only letting Lemy see the TV again when it cut back to the obnoxious looking hosts and not their scantily clad mother.

"Yeah, they said it was last night." Lemy told her.

"'Another'?" Their uncle asked.

"Yes, mom hates people with cameras." Lemy told him.

"Just people who try and interrupt her personal life." Lyra corrected. Luna Loud was a very publicized name, but she didn't stand for camera attention 24/7.

"Does that happen a lot?" He asked.

"A lot." Lemy nodded

"Mostly around us." Lyra explained. "Mom doesn't like anyone knowing about us."

"…Huh." Lincoln said after a delay.

"It can be pretty crazy sometimes." Lemy said. "Mom made me hide in the girls bathroom once." That was true, and it wasn't even the worst instance. They always took steps to avoid, but if that was impossible their mother would be confrontational. Very confrontational. One of the times they'd visited Luan and Liby was because mom got charged for snagging someone's camera and breaking it over their head.

"These are the people that post naked pictures of you online. I'd punch them too." Lupa left that very disturbing image in their heads.

Their mom was on the screen again, another scene from what was probably last night. The vultures worked fast. A horde of them were following their mother as she walked back to her tour bus. Something immediately caught their eye.

"Sam's back!" Lemy sounded happy.

"She is." Lyra looked at the blond women beside Luna. She must've got out of rehab. Both women walked, ignoring the questions being shouted at them. One got too close and Luna shoved it away before saying something. Whatever it was must've been bad, because it was bleeped out. Lemy and Lincoln both snickered, one loudly and the other trying to hold it in. Lyra reached forward and shut the TV off manually.

"Hey!" Lemy shouted angrily, trying to push past her and turn it back on.

"No." She said with finality and he stopped. Lupa decided there was no more entertainment to be had and left, leaving them and their awkward looking uncle. "When are we leaving?" Lyra asked. She didn't mean to sound rude, but she was looking for a change of subject. Besides, it was nearly midday already.

"I guess I can go say goodbye to Lucy and Lupa whenever you guys are ready." He decided.

"Well, I'm ready." Lemy interjected. His mood had soured.

"We'll go say goodbye to them too." Lyra decided. She thought their uncle might need to get back to his work at home. They didn't want to keep him from it.

"I'll go wake up Lucy and tell her then. You guys go say goodbye to Lupa first." Lincoln told them, so they did. Lupa had gone back to the kitchen for second helpings.

"We're going back home." Lyra told her, regretfully discarding the uneaten breakfast she'd made. She thought she caught something briefly flash on her cousin's face- disappointment, maybe. She wasn't even sure, but Lupa looked just as indifferent as ever when she responded.

"Bye." She said without ceremony.

"See you around." Lemy sounded just as indifferent.

"Yep." Lupa acknowledged. That was about as emotional a goodbye they'd get from her. You could easily think she didn't care if they were there or not. Lyra had gotten slightly hopeful after their conversation she'd get something more.

Their aunt and uncle came into the kitchen a few minutes later, their aunt still in a nightgown. She looked unkempt. She must've decided to come see them off without getting ready for the day.

"Thank you for inviting us over." Lyra walked up. "And thank you for dinner."

"Yeah, it was pretty cool." Lemy nodded. "The firework show was awesome."

"It was nice having some life in the house for a day." Lucy said to them, then looked over at her daughter. "Lupa."

"It was fun." She obliged.

"You can come visit again before you go back to your mom." Their aunt offered, which surprised them slightly.

"We'll see." Lincoln promised. His sister hugged him again, wishing him luck with his work. He did the same and promised he'd at least come by himself later. To the side, Lupa pretended to gag at the scene.

All the goodbyes and good wishes had been made, simple but earnest. They went back upstairs to grab their things, Lemy got dressed, and they left for home.


	13. Chapter 13

When Lemy woke up on July 7th, Lyra was sick. Not a cold or anything, she was just sick. Girls got sick every few weeks and got better a few days later. His mom had told him so. He'd seen it happen to Lyra plenty of times. He could always tell because she liked to stay in bed and wear sweat pants.

He always steered clear so he wouldn't get sick too, and because it was the only time she still got mean like when she was younger. Not with him though; she was only grouchier. She could still fly of the handle on mom sometimes though. One morning when they found out mom had crawled into bed with them in the middle of the night (it happened sometimes), he'd seen Lyra roll mom right off the side onto the floor and then lay back down like it didn't matter.

Not that she was mean all the time she was sick. She'd sit and watch tv with him a lot, either in hotels or on the tour bus. She'd still chaperone him if it wanted to go to an arcade or something. It just took her longer to wake up in the morning. There was no risk as long as he didn't do anything that might annoy her, and he make sure not to.

The only rule she had was no hugs while she was sick. He had no idea why. He remembered doing it once when he was around six, and she'd shoved him right to the floor. And no, he hadn't cried over it.

Much.

So Lemy treaded softy that morning when he got up for breakfast and realized she was sick. After breakfast, she went back to bed, and he went into the living room where their uncle was already working.

"Lyra's sick." Lemy told him as he flopped down on the couch and picked up a controller. "Don't bother her." He warned. His aunts and cousins could understand because they were girls too. But Lemy wasn't sure he did. Maybe, since he'd had sisters too.

"Sick?" Lincoln asked without looking up. "Sick how?"

"Girls get sick every few weeks." Lemy told him. His uncle froze up.

"Ooh." He said, nodding to himself. He set the pencil he'd been using down and spun around in his chair before getting up. Lemy paused the game, wondering what he was about to do.

"Where are you going?" He asked when it was apparent he was about to leave.

"Just to the store to grab a few things that'll make her feel better." He explained.

"Grab what?" Lemy got up. Was there medicine for this? He thought it just went away after a few days.

"Some different things. You want to come along?" Lincoln asked.

"Yeah." Lemy agreed. If it was something for Lyra, why not?

"Lemy and me are heading down to the store!" Lincoln called down the hall.

"Stay safe!" Lyra called back, probably not thinking anything of it. They headed downstairs and out onto the street. The weather before noon was a cool low 70s. Like last time, they walked down the street to the Flip's automated store.

"What are we getting?" Lemy asked.

"Some medicine, some chocolate, and some tea." He explained. "We have some tea at home, but it's cold. We'll need some hot."

"And that'll make Lyra feel better?" Lemy asked.

"It isn't a cure." His uncle admitted. "But it will make her feel better." That made sense, he guessed. If he had a cold and mom or Lyra gave him medicine his cold didn't disappear, but it didn't feel so bad. He didn't know there was a something like that for when girls got sick though.

"Where'd you learn that?" Lemy asked.

"It's just one of those things you learn when you live with so many girls." Lemy only lived with one. Two if he countered his mom, although it was weird to think of her as a girl. "It's really useful." If it helped Lyra, it was.

They went in and broke for different sections of the store. Lemy made a break straight for the candy since he'd planned to get some for himself, but he grabbed a few for his sister. His uncle got the other things, they paid for it all, and they headed back for the apartment.

When they climbed up the stairs and through the door, his uncle bid him to the kitchen. Lyra was still in the back bedroom. "Just give me a second to make this." He started making the tea.

"I know how to make that." Lemy stated. His mom loved tea. It was part of her British theme.

"That's good." He nodded. "Just remember it has to be warm. You got that chocolate?"

"Yeah."

"Put it in the bag with the other stuff." Lemy pulled out some of the candy- only some, he had gotten most of it for himself- and put the rest in the bag. The only other things in it after his uncle had taken out the tea was some aspirin.

"Here we go." He finished a cup of tea. Steam was coming out the top. "Take this and the bag to your sister." He carefully handed the hot cup to Lemy. "Trust me- she's really going to like it."

"If you say so." Lemy shrugged. If it really helped, he'd over look being ordered around. He headed down the hall slowly with both in hand. The door was cracked so he just went right in. Lyra was sitting up in bed against the headboard, her book propped on her knees. She looked up curiously as he approached the bed.

"Uncle Lincoln told me to get you these things because they'd help you feel better." She checked the bag and the drink he was holding, and her face went pink for some reason. "Uh…does it?" Lemy asked uncertainly. She smiled.

"Yes, it does." She set them down and pulled him in a hug. Not a full one, just holding him against her shoulder. "Thank you, Lemy."

"Uh…right." He muttered awkwardly. "Hope you feel better soon."

"I'll be fine soon." She told him and let him go.

"See you later." He backed out of the room.

"So, did she like it?" Lincoln asked as Lemy came back out into the living room and flopped down onto the couch.

"Yeah. She liked it." Lemy answered, feeling suddenly pleased with himself.

"Keep it in mind if you want to keep helping her in the future." His uncle advised him. "Might be useful when you get a girlfriend too."

Girlfriend? Lemy shuddered. Gross! He picked up the controller again and got back to what was actually fun.

A Few Hours Later

"Feeling better?" Lincoln asked his daughter when he ran into her in the kitchen later that day while she was getting more tea.

"Yes." She nodded, although a little embarrassed. "Thank you."

"Sorry for the embarrassment." He wanted to cover his bases just in case. "I grew up in a house full of girls, so it's kind of an automatic response."

"No, it's fine." She shook her head. "Thank you, really. He already knows a little bit about it anyway." Lincoln nodded and made to go back to work. "Uncle Lincoln?" Lyra stopped him and he turned around. "Thank you." She said again. "I've always kind of worried about him having a good male role model. That was…a good lesson for him to learn." She was still embarrassed by it even as she thanked him.

"That? That's just basic stuff." He tried to wave it off while trying his hardest not to smile giddily.

"Thank you all the same." She took a fresh cup of tea and headed into the living room to sit down beside her brother. He waited to make sure he was composed before casually walking across the living room back to his desk. A half-finished commission was sitting there- something from one of the super hero blockbusters that had dropped this summer. But he didn't resume work immediately even though he should.

He couldn't help it- he was still bubbling with excitement. Okay, so maybe it wasn't a milestone event, but he'd still taught his son something, right? Knowledge befitting a man? Maybe he was making a big deal over a few small words, but he'd take what he could get. Sure, Lemy and him had talked about video games a lot, but that was only entertaining your kids, not raising them like he so wanted to do.

That's what parenting was, wasn't it? Teaching your kids what you knew and watching them growing and succeeding at life? He'd missed a lot of their early years, Lupa and Lemy's entirely. Time and the gender difference meant he couldn't even teach them a lot of lessons now. But Lemy was a boy (he should've figured he'd have at least one) and still had a lot of years ahead of him, so Lincoln really hoped there was a lot he could teach him.

Except courtship- the boy could figure that out for himself. Whatever dramatic failures he might commit, they'd still be better then the dumpster fires that would result if he took any advice from Lincoln.

Call it a benign lesson, but Lincoln stayed in a good mood for the rest of the day just out of goofy hope.

Two days later, Lincoln left late in the morning to go pick up Liby so she could stay over for a night. He told Lyra and Lemy he'd be back, left the apartment, got into his car, and started the drive. Luan had one of the nicer apartment blocks in the city, a decent drive from the rattier one he occupied.

These trips and the necessary foraging of food tended to be the only time he ever got out of his little apartment. It was a great breath of fresh air. For all of four years he'd hated the outdoors. Within a year of having to work indoors though, he'd grown to miss it. Irony.

The apartments were middle class at best, but his old car was still the junkiest thing in the parking lot. "Morning Jack." Lincoln greeted the daytime security guard when he stepped into the lobby. The man could remember faces he'd only seen once, and he'd seen Lincoln's here more a few times.

"Mr. Loud." He nodded politely from behind the magazine he was reading. "Picking up Liby again?" The building guard was very familiar with Liby: when the girl was younger she'd had a sleuth phase, probably spurred by some books she'd read, and had been fond of slipping the guard notes on suspicious things she noticed in a building. A lot of them had actually panned out to be important. He'd remarked to Lincoln once that if Liby could learn to string a sentence together without stuttering, she'd make a good police detective.

After the idea of her figuring out the truth about who he was cost him a few nights of sleep, he'd thought that would actually be amazing if it turned out that way.

"Yeah, always got to make time for my niece." He said cheerfully as he climbed the stairs to Luan and Liby's apartment. 2nd floor, 3rd room on the left, apartment no. 205. He had a key- he had one to all three of their places, actually- but he still always knocked first.

And like always when he came to his apartment, he stepped to the side as soon as he did. A habit you picked up after one too many gag assaults when you opened the door.

That was after 3 pie-ings, two water blasts, and one time Luan had dressed like an old man to make him think he had the wrong apartment. In his defense, it had been a good costume. He couldn't be mad though because the second thing he always saw was Liby laughing at his misfortune.

The door knob turned and the door opened. Luan poked her head out. "Hey Linc." She smiled when she saw him. "Come in." She leaned back into the apartment, leaving the door open. After making sure that there wasn't a bucket of water propped on it, he followed her in.

It was a modest apartment, not luxury but leagues above his and even slightly topping Lynn's. A fairly spacious living rooms and kitchen, two bedrooms, and a bathroom that had more than just standing room.

But what always stuck out to him about it was how it lacked any personality. Lynn's apartment had jock scattered throughout it (you ever stub your bare toe against a 15-pound dumbbell in the dark? It hurts), Lucy's fit her eternal mood perfectly (so many busts, dolls, and paintings that seemed to be staring at you), and even Luna's tour bus the one time he'd been on it screamed out her preference (how can someone look at that much purple day after day?). But nothing like that here. No comedy posters. No props or gags sitting around. You wouldn't think a comedy genius lived here.

But Luan was a different woman now, more restrained. Around him she was more restrained, anyway; Liby had told him how her mother could still be as hyper and talkative as when she was a teenager. But never around Lincoln though. He'd never brought why she was up with her because he could never figure out if it was a good or bad thing.

Speaking of Luan, she was in the kitchen getting a cup of coffee from the pot. He just now noticed she was wearing pajamas. She must have just gotten up even though it was almost 11. He didn't see Liby- the girl liked to stay in her room most of the day. And since that coast was clear…

"Late night?" He asked softly in Luan's ear as he came up behind and wrapped his arms around her midsection. She performed at a lot of those late-night comedy shows. You know, the kind of places parents go after they put their kids to bed?

"Kept the audience laughing till closing time." She leaned her head back just enough to give him a peck of the cheek before wiggling out of the embrace to go sit in the living room chair with her coffee. Lincoln followed and collapsed on the couch.

"So I guess there's no trouble with the bills?" He casually questioned.

" _No_ , Lincoln. Not at all."

"Okay, okay." He put his hands up defensively. It was an exchange they always had. Lincoln always asked, but as far as finances went Luan was completely self-sustaining. Not that it was a bad thing; she didn't have to deal with the same stresses Lynn and Lucy did and that meant he didn't have to work his fingers to the bone trying to help. But Lincoln kind of felt left out of it all when he wasn't contributing; even if he couldn't spend time doing the raising part so much, he could at least say he was doing that. Not the case here.

But if he wasn't helping Luan make ends meet, that was money he could spend on Liby. All of their visits involved a store trip for new a new book or a new board game or something like that, stuff that always made her happy. This one probably would too. A small consolation to see her face light up like that.

But they disagreed on that sometimes too. Lincoln couldn't argue because he knew he should be grateful Luan understood and negated him of any further financial hardship.

He should be even more grateful that any of them still spoke to him at all.

But it still made him feel left out. Well, he knew he would just come off as ungrateful is he complained. That he had no right considering how everything was. So he just bared it.

"What about yours?" She returned the question. Lincoln shrugged.

"Luna was nice enough to cover for the next two months, so I'm trying to get some savings stored for once." She nodded. "Work's been steady, although I've had one commissioner who does nothing but badger me with emails every day."

"Ugh." Luan rolled his eyes. "Online haters have gotten _really_ insistent this summer."

"You want online harassment? Try nerds who want to constantly rag at you over your superhero portrayals."

"Oh, like you?"

"Oh very funny." But he genuinely smiled, especially when she moved from the chair over to the couch next to him. "I stopped being a nerd years ago."

"Hmm. Nope." His sister concluded. "Still a nerd. Pretty sure only nerds draw superheroes."

"So I guess that means you're still a clown, since you still do comedy?" He joked. There they were talking about work and poking fun at each other like an old married couple. Lincoln had noticed he seemed to slip into certain dynamics with each his sister- him and Lucy were like young lovers, him and Lynn were like a newly married couple (passionate. VERY passionate), and Leni was a long-distance girlfriend. Speaking of his first, he made a mental note to arrange a video call in the next few days or so to her and Liena.

But him and Luan had something easier going even if she seemed the least likely person for him to settle easy with. Their earliest years 'together' had been crazy and very…wild. The kind of stuff you look back at when your older and think 'what was wrong with me?' (in Lincoln's defense, he thought that ever other day anyway). It was like they'd gotten all their energy out then and there and were content to spend the rest of their lives together (or however close they could get to that) taking it easy with Liby the only concern.

Unless their child or their limited family was around; Luan had to make an audience and her daughter especially laugh. Then it was like she'd only grown up in age but not spirit. But when things were quiet Lincoln thought it was kind of nice. Even if he was still in his 20s, he felt old and the simplicity of only doing what he wanted to do was a very content life.

"How's Lucy?" She snapped him out of his thoughts. He'd mentioned the goth's call discretely at the pool one of the times Lynn was out of ear shot.

"She's doing fine." He looked over to see her taking an eyes-closed sip of coffee. "Still writing her books and talking to the dead." He involuntarily shuddered. "Lupa is still Lupa. We went over for the 4th of July and all had fun. I still think they could use more visitors."

"Liby!" Luan suddenly called. "Your uncle is here to pick you up!"

Of course that didn't work. He'd only ever managed to get the three together in a room once. Probably never would again unless his casket was in it (maybe Lucy was rubbing off on him; that was dark). But he felt obliged to try every few visits.

A door opened somewhere in the apartment and he heard approaching footsteps. Liby appeared shortly after. In her pajamas too. Like mother, like daughter, at least in some ways.

"Heeey." Forgetting his aborted conversation with Luan, he got up to embrace his daughter. She seemed embarrassed by his enthusiasm but still returned the hug. "I didn't know we were planning a pajama party." Behind him, Luan snorted in amusement.

"I'll…go get dressed." Liby mumbled and quickly took off. Lincoln watched her fondly and sat down to wait. He might as well; girls took forever, daughters even more than sisters.

"Don't spoil our daughter." His sister reminded him in her 'mom voice'. Lincoln pretended innocently not to hear her. By the way she brought the coffee cup up to hide her mouth, she knew and was trying not to smirk.

Sorry, but there were just some things he couldn't do.

Later that day

Sleepovers were normally a phrase that would strike apprehension into Liby's heart. The girl liked familiarity. Her own home was familiar. Her 'lair' as she'd put it. Safe from all, and free to plot and pursue whatever interests, with or without air quotes, she preferred. Other houses, there wasn't any. Other people, you couldn't get as familiar with as the family you lived with. That was why Liby refused even when offered by her small but closely-knit group of school friends.

Being a bedwetter till the age of nine might've had something to do with it too.

But she had no apprehension about sleepover at her uncle's. Somehow, his place had that same homey feel to it. And there was always something fun to do. She was in such a hurry she ended up putting on mismatched socks but decided to go with it anyway.

Her uncle probably was apprehensive about all her overnight stuff he had to carry up the stairs: Not only overnight clothes, but board games. A lot of board games. And DVDs. And one or two video games Liby kept in her room for specifically when she came over. She had someone to play with and bedtime was optional now. She was going to take advantage of it.

Lyra and Lemy looked up from the tv as entered, surprised by the amount of stuff their uncle was carrying. "Hey guys." Liby greeted, turning about to take some of the weight out of her uncle's arms.

"How long are you staying again?" Lyra asked.

"Only tonight." Their brace faced cousin responded.

"Okay." Lincoln breathed out in exhaustion, glad to be free of that weight. "What first?" He asked with a smile. Liby had already made her mind up on the drive over. She fetched the box was the stack of luggage- Guess Who. "You're the boss."

Five minutes later, they were all set up at the kitchen table, Liby blue and her uncle red. Red always went first.

"Man or women?"

"Woman." Liby answered. He started knocking down tiles. "Male of female?" She reiterated the question at him.

"Woman." Liby knocked down nearly half of hers too. That was always the basic starting question- if you were an amateur. But she always felt like giving her uncle half of a chance to win against her. He got down to 3 suspects before Liby correctly Guess Who'd him, cementing victory.

After that, it was a game of battleship. The trick was to mix it up- keep some things spaced and others close- and to avoid the edges. Liby put her big ships in the upper right but grouped two of her smaller ones in the center. Her uncle ALWAYS started at the center. She knew his patterns at all their games by now. But even he could surprise her; he first guess was in upper part of the map and got the end of her battleship. The war was on.

He won that one. And the next three hours suddenly flew by in the blur broken up only by an occasional snack or bathroom break - it was UNO, then connect four, and then a very tense game of Jenga. This was why Liby loved it here so much- she could play her games. Given, they were all ancient by now and all online in some matter, but computers always cheated. She liked playing against people. The stimulation and thinking felt cathartic. But her mom didn't have to lack of energy for the long sitdowns, her cousins weren't very good, and Liby was too shy to play against strangers if she could even find them. But her uncle was always excited to play them too, and he could be surprisingly good at them.

On top of everything else her uncle was, as far as relatives went, he was all the best things in one.

She thought her cousins peeked into the kitchen at least once during it all, but she was so focused she couldn't be sure. Lemy might've even come to stand by the side of the table and watch, but her wits wouldn't let her be distracted.

But even with youth she had to take a break. Her aging uncle even more.

"Ooh." He said as they both heard something pop as he stretched. "So, you read through those books we got last time?" He asked, referring to the novels he'd bought her during their trip to the mall on her last visit. That had been over a month ago. She'd finished all of them after three days.

"Yep." She answered. She'd guessed most of the twists, but that was gratifying in its own way.

"Glad to know. There any others you've been looking for?"

"Maybe." Liby admitted shyly. She knew he was going to offer to take her and get some of them. He always did. Every time she visited. She'd never asked him to get her anything. It didn't take critical thinking skills to realize he lived on a smaller budget than her mom did. So she always felt a little guilty even though he practically insisted on it. "If it isn't too much trouble." But she wasn't going to protest if he insisted on it.

"Never." He shook his head patted her shoulder. "Lyra, Lemy!" He called into the living room. "I'm taking Liby to the mall. You guys can come along if you want." A small exchange later the two agreed and were getting ready to leave. Liby quickly snagged a sticky note and pen from her uncle's desk and jotted down everything that had been on her mental list recently. She knew the mental anguish of buying a lot and only realizing after you left the store that you'd forgotten one or two. Not this time.

That they would be going to a crowded public place didn't cross Liby's mind at all.


	14. Chapter 14

" _And maybe if you'd been here to help like you said you'd be, it wouldn't have happened!"_

Lincoln always remembered those words, every single time Liby visited. Every single time they went out they'd ring in his head. When she'd tense up at crowds, when she'd squeeze his hand just a little tighter, when whatever smile she'd been wearing would vanish on a dime.

He could tell she was shy from that joyous moment he'd gotten to see her again. But what he'd had to painfully learn was she was easily afraid. It'd been good intentions on his part, taking his daughters out to do something. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions, as they say.

That summed up a lot of things he'd done in his life.

Liby hated public crowded spaces, or at least public spaces filled with people bigger than her. She'd absolutely refused at first, and it eventually got to where the mere suggestion would make her tear up.

Luan had finally sat him down and given it to him straight- Liby might have had some mild ochlophobia, a fear of crowds. It hadn't hurt him too much to only do inside things- just being able to see her again was a blessing in itself- but he had to wonder just how that had happened. Luan had told him.

After his unwilling departure, she'd had to take care of Liby herself. Their parents sure as hell weren't going to help, Leni and Luna were already on the road with their careers by then, and Lynn was just as overburdened. So she had to take their daughter with her everywhere, including shopping.

Getting ready for your first year of school was one of those things that should be exciting. For Liby, it'd been terrifying. As his sister told him, the mall had been packed on that day with a lot of pushy people. They'd gotten separated, and Luan hadn't found her again for over an hour and when he had, she'd been kneed in the face at least once. Their little girl hated crowds from that day on.

A whole hour. How did that happen? According to Luan, she'd looked frantically for about 20 minutes before quickly finding mall security. Even then, it had taken time for them to find her. Lincoln had been upset, obviously, and maybe a little angry.

But while he'd been thinking about how Liby felt, he hadn't been thinking about how Luan felt about it. How stressed and angry _she_ was about it. And as soon as he'd shown the slightest sign of aggravation about what had happened. She'd snapped at him. Tore into him even. Shouted those same words he now couldn't get out of his head. She'd tried her hardest, but things turned out the way they did. He had no right to complain when everything originated from the mistake he'd made.

And he realized she was right. He didn't. The things he didn't like about his girls- Lupa not talking as much, Lacy being obviously suffocated by her mother's enthusiasm, and Liby being shy. Even recently, he'd felt the smallest bit of anger when he realized Lyra and Lemy had completed shrugged off the notion of having a dad after so long with just their mom. But did he have a right to complain about any of those to their mothers? Not at all.

But if the mistakes of the past couldn't be changed, he kept looking towards the future. That's why he spoiled them all, or as much as he could manage.

"There's an arcade and a food court in here." He mentioned to Lyra and Lemy as the four of them entered the expanse. The two looked around in un-hidden fascination. Malls were getting rare in the country, or so Leni bemoaned during their correspondences. The Royal Woods Mall might end up being the last in the country. "Go do whatever you guys want. We'll meet here back in an hour and a half?"

"Deal." Lemy was already trying to pull his sister away. Lincoln looked over at Liby.

"Shall we?" He offered her his hand. She took it and they set off. The first step was unsteady. She seemed to gravitate back and directly behind him before steadily coming out beside him. And in no time at all her steps were confident as they moved through the crowd.

Bookstore

"Hi Ms. Oliver." Liby greeted the clerk as she entered the store, letting her uncle's hand go as they stepped through the doorway. It wasn't one of those chain bookstores; it was a family business renting out a space in the mall, and the clerk was always the same woman.

"Hello Liby." It was a funny story, but even though they'd met over a dozen times, the woman had recognized Liby the first time she saw her. Or rather, she'd seen her mother in her, since Liby's mom got books from here for her daughter. "Through with those books already?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded. She woman smiled.

"Well, I went ahead and set aside the next installments since I just knew you'd be back." She knelt under the counter and pull out six books bound together with a zip tie. Liby bounded up to the counter and examined the spines, pulling out her list and comparing. Everything was there. She nodded in approval.

"Thanks you ma'am." She was sure to express her gratitude. Her uncle was already pulling out his wallet behind her. "I still wanna take a look around." She stopped him.

"Alright." He stored it for now. "I'll wait here." He let Liby roam to her hearts content. She made three different passes through the fantasy fiction isle and a quick one through the sci-fi section; she read both, but she preferred the former. She pulled a few off the shelf to look when the summary or cover intrigued her. So many of them were just sequels or in the middle of a series, and Liby hated reading things out of order. Her uncle stayed at the front of the store patiently, occasionally peering down the aisle to watch her survey the options.

After twenty minutes, they left the bookstore with a bag filled with eleven books. Over 2,000 words of intrigue or fantasy. Liby would probably be through with them in only a few weeks.

"Thank you so much!" Liby was so excited. So excited in fact, she was peering into the bag with both hands as they walked through the crowds.

"It's no problem." Her uncle shrugged. "I hope you enjoy them."

"I will." She nodded enthusiastically. "All the cliffhangers have been bugging me for so long." She complained. "Why the mage betrayed them, whose body they found in the safe room, why the cash was suddenly missing-" She was going on and on about all her favorite book series. Lincoln listened interestedly, nodding and making the occasional 'ah'.

She was so excited, she didn't look where she was going. Her uncle reached out and grabbed her shoulder too late to keep her from bumping into a woman. And suddenly Liby wasn't excited anymore.

"Sorry about that!" Lincoln put his hand on Liby's shoulders and moved her away quickly. He steered her closer to the sides of the massive walking space. "You okay?" He asked her once they got there.

"Y-yeah." Liby stuttered. She'd locked up there for a second and couldn't even recall being moved over here. She instinctively reached out to grab his hand.

"Ok." She heard her uncle sigh in relief and felt a little guilty. She really hated making him and her mom worry. "How about we go get a bite to eat, huh?" He suggested. "Then maybe check out that arcade. I'll bet you still got the high score on that space shooter." He was talking about a lite gun game Liby particularly enjoyed. It was about shooting aliens. She was _real_ good at it.

"Well, _obviously_." She snorted dorkily and immediately covered her face as she blushed a deep red. Her uncle snorted too, and it made her feel just a little bit better.

The food court and the arcade were right next to one another. They had the market cornered as far as kids and teenagers went. But there was a decorative wall dividing them: four feet high and then diamond patterned wood beams reaching all the way to the ceiling. Both Liby and her uncle noticed Lemy on the arcade side, peering through one of the diamonds intently at something in the food court.

Intrigue took over and with a lack of crowds, Liby separated from her uncle to run up and see what had the nine-year old's interest. "What are you looking at?" She caught him off guard and he jumped.

"Nothing!" He said quickly, angrily. Liby peered through on of the diamonds herself. She immediately spotted what she was sure he'd been staring at: his sister. She was sitting at one of the food court tables...sitting across from a boy!

"Who's that?"

"I don't know." Lemy grumbled, resuming his own spying.

"Uh…What are you two up to?" It was their uncle, sounding perplexed.

"Lyra's talking to a boy." Liby explained without looking up.

"Really?" He asked. There was beat, and suddenly he was standing behind them looking through one of the higher diamonds at the same sight.

Food Court

Lyra hadn't been that surprised at the arcade last month and she wasn't surprised now. Having other kids coming up to Lemy and her wasn't all that unusual. It happened a lot when they were at hotels, other people looking for someone like them to interact with.

For Lyra, being approached by boys specifically wasn't unusual either. In fact, it was common enough her mother had felt the need to 'talk' with her about it. Ugh.

Whichever instance it was, she didn't turn them down. It wasn't just out of politeness; she'd always had a curiosity about interacting with more people her age, although willing to receive more than pursue. She could count the number of people her age she had any sort of compatibility with on one hand, but she never thought about not doing it.

She'd let Lemy run loose in the arcade and gone to the food court, being sure to pick a table that gave her a view of the only way in or out of the former venture. And while she was there, a boy about her age approached her.

They'd talked a little while, introduced themselves- his name was Marcus. When Lyra had introduced herself, he'd mentioned her mother ("Oh, like that famous singer?") but she didn't confirm it. She mentioned she was just passing through, and he talked about how he'd lived here most his life. All the while Lyra would make a glance to make sure Lemy wasn't wandering away somewhere.

Their conversation had ended with him suggesting he could show her around town sometime and asked for her number.

"I don't have a phone." She admitted. The boy looked surprised.

"Oh." He was quiet for a moment. "What social media do you use?"

"I don't have any of those either." And suddenly the atmosphere at the table was very awkward, color creeping into both their faces.

"Oh." He said again, looking around at nothing. "Too bad, I guess." He muttered and started to stand up. "It was nice talking to you though. Maybe we'll see each other again some time?"

"Thank you, and hopefully." She responded. He walked away. What a shame. But it happened. Part of a life of moving around so much. She didn't dwell on the occurrence.

Deciding to go check on Lemy, Lyra got up and started moving towards the arcade. She ran into her uncle partway there.

"Friend of yours?" He inquired, stopping her.

"No, a stranger." She stepped past.

"He seemed upset about something." He was trying to pry.

"He asked for my phone number and I didn't have one." From the mouth of the arcade, she immediately spotted her brother and cousin hunched over one of the cabinets together.

"Oh yeah, you don't have a phone." Her uncle remembered.

"No." She confirmed.

"We can go buy you one." He offered, surprising her.

"No…" She shook her head. "Thank you, but no. I'm fine." She didn't need one. The only people she ever called was her mom, and she did that on either a hotel landline or using one of her aunt's phone. It wasn't a necessity. Besides, she'd seen what having a phone could do through Loan. Not exactly pretty.

"Come on." He insisted. "It's the least I can do. You don't want to miss an opportunity like that again, do you?" An opportunity like that. He missed the way her lips tightened slightly.

"Someone needs to watch Lemy." She made an excuse. Her uncle realized she wasn't going to budge. He left her to it and said he was going to go look in some other stores. He made sure to invite Liby, and the younger girl left with him excitedly.

And when they met up again when it was time to head back home, both had a few more bags worth of items. Once they were in the car and buckled in, Lincoln passed one to his oldest niece. Peering inside, she realized it was a phone. And before she could protest, the engine started, and they were already moving.

"…Thanks." She conceded, realizing his intention but refusing to be angry about it. She'd never had a need for one, but maybe she could find some utility for it, seeing as he'd gone through so much trouble just to get her one.

Later that day

After they'd gotten home, Liby had retreated into the kitchen for some privacy to start reading her new books and the rest had fallen into their usual places.

It was about six in the evening when their uncle called all of them together. "I got something to show you." Was all he said. He adjusted something he'd set on top of the computer and opened a new window that showed just blackness. Then something appeared in it. "Hi Linky!"

"Hey Leni." Lincoln waved to the camera. Their fashion-oriented aunt waved back from the other screen. Then she squealed when she saw the three of them standing behind him. Further greeting were exchanged.

Where as Lyra always thought her mother looked older than she was, she thought her second eldest aunt looked younger than she really was. The blond hadn't looked a day over 20 last time Lyra saw her years ago and she still didn't now. She looked just as fashionable too, with designer glasses and a shirt.

Behind was Liena, and…wow. Lyra remembered the girl towering over her last time she saw her. Now Lyra was sure she would've towered over anyone in the family. She must've been well over 6 feet. So tall she had to lean down to be in the video feed. Big too. Not fat, just stocky.

"Oh my gosh! Is that Liby? Put her on!" Leni urged. Lincoln rolled slightly to the side to let the timid girl nervously approach. "I haven't seen what you looked like in, like, forever! You're so pretty!"

"T-thanks." Liby said in embarrassment. "You look just as pretty as you sound on the phone."

"Aww." Leni gushed at the compliment. Then she begged to see Lyra and Lemy.

"You're so beautiful!" She gasped when the brunette stepped in front of the camera. "Oh my gosh, your hair is amazing."

"Thank you." Lyra smiled. Her aunt was still bubbly to the point of it being infectious.

Lemy was a little more reluctant to be put on display. "Aww, you're not a cute little boy anymore." Their aunt seemed disappointed. Lemy puffed out his chest.

"Mom and Sam gave me a makeover."

"Hmm…" Their aunt cocked her head to the side. "It could work…" She said thoughtfully.

"So how are you doing, Leni?" Lincoln interjected, knowing the signs of an incoming fashion binge. Her focus changed immediately.

"Ooh, just great! We're in New York to sample this new store that's opening!"

"New Jersey, mom." Liena corrected her.

"Right!" The older blond didn't miss a beat. And the conversation just became one of two siblings catching up on what the other had been up to recently. Lyra, Lemy, and Liby left them to it, although it wasn't hard to eavesdrop on the conversation that they had for the next hour. Lyra felt just a little bit guilty for it.

Leni was just going on and on about everything she been doing, and her brother listened with rapt attention, comedy, and genuine laughter. And she'd listened just as attentively when he started talking about how he was doing. She asked about the rest of their sisters- Lyra's mom, Luan, Lynn, even Lucy, interestingly.

He even spoke to Liena one on one for a little while, although Lyra could tell she wasn't as keen to speak when there was an audience. They just explained pleasantries and Lincoln asked her about how and what she'd been doing for the summer. Lyra couldn't remember exactly what is was, but she knew Liena wasn't home schooled like they were. A boarding academy? She wished she could remember.

Despite that, Liena still did talk about a lot of things to their uncle. Mostly about her mother, Lyra couldn't help but notice. About the fun things they did, but also about some of the mishaps they got into. She didn't really hide her frustration when she talked about those, and Lyra had to remember for how nice she was, her aunt was a little…silly? She didn't want to think anything meaner.

Lincoln was sympathetic to all her gripes, offering condolences or praising her for her own sharp wits during them. He kept steering her back to talk more about herself though, during which were mood was noticeably better.

"Well, if you ever want to talk, you always have my number." Lincoln mentioned near the end of their conversation.

Lyra suddenly thought the phone he'd bought her wasn't such a bad idea after all.

After that, Liby wanted to play some of the video games she'd brought with her. It took a bit of haggling on her part and some insistence from their uncle, which Lemy strangely folded to, before she was set up.

It was something about managing a military and fighting aliens. Liby sat in the center of the couch and their uncle right beside her. Lemy and Lyra were relegated to the ends of the couch, although Lemy got bored of the slow pace of the game and announced he was going into the bedroom to play his guitar. Lyra decided to stay and watch.

And for that, she got to witness uncle and niece get really into their game. It was like Liby was a general and her uncle a savvy assistant. They debated strategy. They debated management. Many moves were preceded by deep discussion. They both cheered when something went right. And they both leaned back dramatically in their seat when something went wrong.

Lyra didn't understand much of it. In fact, she was sure that they forgot she was there. But they were clearly having fun.

And they did this well into the night. Around ten Lyra felt responsible to speak up and ask if either of them were going to bed. She got a "we'll go soon" as an answer. She believed them and sent Lemy to bed before going herself, although making sure to unpack Liby's sleeping bag for her.

And when Lyra got up the next morning, she found both of them on the couch sleeping against the other. The game from still on, but the controller had clearly spent the night on the floor. She let them be.


	15. Chapter 15

Lemy couldn't recall ever being on a plain normal bus at any point in his life, although Lyra told him he had as a baby in California. He was used to either mom's tour bus or those charter buses that carried you across state lines, both that had mini-televisions and their own bathrooms. Plain buses had none of those, just seats next together that were barely big enough to fit a person and a whole lot of people trying to not make eye contact.

Lyra and him were going to see a movie. She suggested it after getting better, since they'd been here for just over three weeks by then and hadn't gone out to do anything, and he'd agreed. It'd been long enough that he was starting to get bored. On the road, the view was always changing. At that apartment, nothing changed. It was even weirder because he could always see their uncle at his desk. Lemy did think he was kind of cool, but when things went back to the normal he kept wondering why he bothered inviting them if he would always be busy.

So Lyra had pulled up the cinema website and let him choose, although she'd warned anything above pg-13 was out of the question. He'd chosen the newest Terminator sequel, a remake of a series from before even his mom was born. It was violent, but it was pg-13 like she'd said.

When they got off at the bus station in front of the movie theater, the electronic screen in the booth was cycling through advertisements. One happened to be of mom, for her show August 5th, but she'd be in town before that. Only a few more weeks till they saw her again. He couldn't wait.

"Have you talked to mom at all?" He asked his sister as they walked across the parking lot.

"Not since before we visited Aunt Lucy, no." She told him.

"Her tour schedule said she should be in New Mexico." He'd been checking into the music channel on tv occasionally.

"I'm sure she's enjoying herself." Lyra replied. Yeah, she had to be.

"Can I call her on your phone?" Lemy asked. He'd seen her looking at it once or twice since Liby visited. Their uncle had bought her it. He'd gotten a new video game too that Lemy had had fun playing. By the look on her face, she didn't like the question.

"Let me see if she's awake." She pulled it out of her skirt pocket and dialed their mother. She held the phone to her ear then brought it down to look at the screen.

"She's not there?" He asked.

"It was declined. She probably didn't recognize the number." Lyra stopped and pulled him up onto a little concrete patch where a light pole was. She tried texting instead. Tried. She went slow and Lemy could see her expression start to become slightly annoyed.

"Did you send it?" He asked when she stopped staring at the screen.

"Yes, but it might take a while-" The phone started ringing in her hand. She answered, and Lemy waited there impatiently while she talked.

"Yes mom. No, nothing's wrong." She listened for a few seconds. "Uncle Lincoln bought me a phone a few days ago." Whatever mom said next must of annoyed her, because he could see her start to scowl, although she turned her face away to hide it. "Yeah. Sure. Look, are you busy? I'm calling because Lemy wanted to talk to you." Another few seconds passed where Lemy was nearly rocking on his heels before Lyra turned around and handed him the phone. He immediately brought it up to his ear.

"Hey mom." He said, quickly moving to the other side of the little patch of concrete. Not out of ear shot, but it would do.

"Lemy!" She sounded up beat. "What's going on, dude?"

"Not much. Lyra and me are going to see a movie."

"Sweet. Your uncle is really spoiling you two."

"No, he's working." Lemy explained. "It's just us."

"He's working?" Mom seemed surprised. "He's always working." She shared her son's exasperation. "So what- Oi, fook off, I'm talking to my son." Lemy couldn't tell who she was talking to, but he grinned. "So what have you guys been up to?" She asked.

"Well, Liby and Lacy visited it." He shrugged. "We went to the mall. You're coming here a few days before your show, right?" He asked.

"A few days before. Why?" Mom asked. "You're having fun over there, aren't you? I know he's working, but your uncle's a pretty cool dude, isn't he?"

"Yeah," He admitted. "But I miss you." He could've swore he felt Lyra staring at him when he said that, but when he glanced behind she was looking somewhere else.

"Yeah, I miss you guys too. Can't wait to see you both again. But don't get down, dude. It's only another three weeks. Both of you try and have fun, okay?"

"Okay mom."

"And do me a favor and try and get your uncle away from his desk. For your mum, alright? He could use a break."

"We'll try." Lemy promised, although he really no intention.

"Good lad." Mom sounded please. "Put your sister back on the phone. And you guys have fun at the movies, alright?"

"We will. Love you."

"Love you too, little dude." And with that farewell, Lemy handed Lyra's phone back to her. She took it, and he listened in to one half of the conversation they had.

"Yes, mother, I will." A pause. "He's busy, but I'll mentioned it." Another pause. "Okay. Love you too, goodbye." She put the phone back in her pocket.

"C'mon. The movie starts soon." She grabbed his hand and they continued walking across the parking lot.

"Don't start acting like a grouch." She warned as they approached the front entrance.

"I won't." He didn't keep the attitude out of his voice.

"I miss her too." She said softly. "But she wants you to have fun, so try, okay?"

"I am having fun. This is better than any of place we've been. I just want to see mom again."

"Soon, okay?" She told him, then thought about something. "Since I have a phone now, you can call her if you miss her. How's that sound?" That sounded great. The only reason he didn't already was because his sister drilled into him it was rude to bug their aunts every day to use their phones. Now it'd just be having to bug Lyra…

"Can't I get my own phone?" He asked.

"No." As fast as that came, she must've been expecting it.

"Why not?" He asked, and they stopped in front of the entrance.

"You're not old enough." Man, he wished he could've gone the rest of the visit without having to hear that.

"Okay. I'll call mom using yours." He agreed. It was no big deal. He still got to talk to mom either way. Just the fact he'd gotten to talk to her today had made it a good day.

The movie ended up being pretty good too.

A few days later, they saw Aunt Lynn and Lacy again. For as much as the two visited, Lyra and Lemy really should've asked why there'd been no trace of that during the time they'd stayed over with them. But neither could think about much beyond how much they missed sleeping when their aunt burst through the bedroom door declaring it time to rise. They'd gotten here before Lyra even got up.

So they had to get up so their aunt would stop yelling at them. Lemy already missed the warmth. And then they had to get in line for the bathroom since Lacy was already in there. They at least got to eat breakfast by themselves, but Lemy already decided that day was going to suck.

Downstairs

Don't sit still for long after you've just done a run- your muscles will get stiff. Lincoln knew that lesson well. So did Lynn, obviously, but she took it a little more seriously. That was why every time these visits happened Lincoln would end up sitting in the driver seat for five minutes watching her doing a stretch routine on the sidewalk to ensure minimal risk of muscle lock for their seven minute drive back to her apartment.

He'd almost dozed off again before she gave the hood a smack and climbed in. "Alright, let's go."

"Of course." He yawned. Well, if the trip back to their apartment played out like they usually did, he wouldn't be tired for long. None of Lynn's neighbors knew who he was, but they knew whenever he came by things on the floor got loud.

"Hey Lincoln." She suddenly spoke up. "Been meaning to ask you something."

"Yeah?" He responded, not thinking much of it.

"Do Luna's kids seem a little close to you?"

"…Huh?" He didn't look up from the road.

"Lyra and Lemy. Don't they look just a _little_ familiar to you, bro?" Lincoln snapped his head to her before quickly turning back to the road.

"What? You're not saying they're like _us,_ are you?" He asked incredulously.

"Just that they look like it."

" _Lynn!_ " He hissed. "No. Just…no." He shook his head.

"Remember when we started sharing a bed again?" She asked.

"There's nothing wrong with that." He tried to reason. "It's because they stay in hotels so often."

"So you don't think there's anything weird about them?" She asked him skeptically.

"No. I'm certain there's nothing like that. Luna agrees with me."

" _They're pretty cool kids." Luna finished up._

" _Yeah, they sound amazing." Phone to his ear, Lincoln leaned back in his desk chair. He'd wondered for so long and now he was going to get a chance to see them again._

" _Just a heads-up dude. Don't get weirded out if they seem a little close." She brought him back to the conversation at hand._

" _Huh?"_

" _They might seem a comfy with each other. Lori and Luan have mentioned it, so I thought I'd give you a heads up. They're nothing like us."_

" _Like…us?!"_

" _Nah, brah. Lemy isn't even old enough. And Lyra- I told you what she was like. I can't wait to see what type of boy actually gets her."_

" _If you say so…" Lincoln said. Imagining his kids like that…talk about a nightmare. He could suddenly understand how his parents felt. "What do you mean though?"_

" _They still share a bed. And don't be surprised if they want to hang with each other instead of you. You'll probably notice it in Lyra more; she's crazy attached to her little brother."_

" _Oh really?" Lincoln asked._

" _Yeah, Lyra wouldn't leave him alone after he was born. Kind of baby crazy like Lola was." Lincoln had to smile at that- Lola had been absolutely crazy about all the babies in the house. Paradoxical really since they could interrupt her beauty sleep and ruin her clothes. She would have made a great aunt. "She'd always argue with to get more time with him or pout at me if I had him." God, that sounded adorable. And he'd missed it. "Then I guess she got it in her head she was supposed to protect him from me and she just hasn't grown out of it yet." The smile slipped from Lincoln's face._

" _Protect?" He repeated unsurely, leaning forward in his chair._

" _Yeah." Luna replied casually. "I said she was into that Bible she had. Once she started getting on the rag she would just bang on and on about it to me trying to 'save my soul'. Telling me I was going to burn, go to Hell, all that jazz. Even the people in High School didn't call me a whore as much as she did."_

" _Luna, that sounds really bad." Lincoln couldn't help but stand and start to pace. He did not like what he was hearing._

" _Nah." Luna didn't seem concerned at all with anything she'd just recalled. "It was just puberty dude, you know how it is. A phase. She's chill now, doesn't talk about anything in the Bible anymore."_

" _Are you sure?" Lincoln couldn't believe it was just that simple._

" _Look, bro, I know my daughter loves me." 'My' not 'our'. "She still does. It was just a little rough patch. We got through it. We understand each other. I'm only mentioning it because of how she acts. Don't worry out it."_

" _I'm supposed to be worried if I hear my daughter might hate her mom."_

" _You were supposed to be here so she could rag on at you too." He shut up. Luna continued on like they hadn't had that exchange. "So yeah, don't expect to get in any fishing trips in without her breathing down yer neck."_

" _I'll keep that in mind."_

" _Real attached." She repeated. "You know, I thought about sending Lyra to one of those religious boarding schools. But I realized she'd never want to get separated from her brother. And little boys like to say they're brave, but I've seen Lemy hiding behind his sister most nights. They're really close, dude. I can't stress that enough. More than we were but not in the same way."_

" _I understand."_

"And I agree with her." Lincoln finished after summarizing the conversation. Lynn had listened to every world.

"I don't know…" She still sounded unconvinced. "I'd keep an eye out in case things change."

"God, I hope not." Lincoln muttered to himself.

"And what's that supposed to mean?!" Lynn seemed to take offense to what he'd said, and he could immediately figure out why. They were just arriving at her apartment and he parked and shut off the engine.

"I didn't mean it like that." He turned to her. "I love Lacy. I love you."

"You still regret it." She accused.

"No. I love both of you." He repeated. "I just think it's nice they love each other so much without being the way we were." She was trying to glare a hole in his head.

"You can stay here." She told him. "I'll bring Lacy's things down." She got out of the car, slammed the door, and stormed off. Lincoln watched her go and slumped in his seat, a hand to his forehead.

One time. He'd mentioned one time he wished things hadn't fallen apart with the rest of the family, and ever since she was so quick to judge, so quick to accuse him of not wanting anything to do with them. That wasn't true. He didn't regret any of them in the slightest, he only regretted the family falling apart after it got found out.

"They're the same thing!" She'd say. Were they really? He thought maybe they were; he was asking to keep the benefits without getting the blow back. Didn't stop him from wishing for both.

She was just scared. Lynn always masked her fear with anger or aggression. That was who she was. And no matter how many times he swore things wouldn't fall apart again, she never believed him.

And why would she? It wouldn't be the first time he lied; he swore up and down to the four of them but Lynn especially that her and Lacy were the cutting off point, where everything ended. He'd do his best for all of them from then on. And then Lucy happened. And Lemy.

Either he'd been wallowing for a few minutes or Lynn had made record time up to her apartment. She opened the car door and flung the over night bag into his lap.

"Lynn-"

"See you tomorrow." She slammed the door and went back into the building. It was just an argument, he told himself as he drove home. They always had to get mad at each other over this every few months. And every time they got over it and focused on Lacy. They'd do it this time too.

But he really hoped one argument would be the last, someday.

The next morning

It was over already. Lacy couldn't help but pout a little as she had to pack her stuff and go home. For once, to her joy, it was her uncle was taking her. At least she didn't have to run and risk upsetting her stomach from all the junk food she'd eaten for breakfast.

"C'mon, don't make that face." He encouraged. "You can come by again soon."

"But school starts in a month!" Lacy despaired. "I'll probably only get to visit one more time before that!" Her uncle chuckled.

"Well…I guess we'll have the make that visit the craziest yet, huh?" He offered.

"Yeah!" Lacy started bouncing in the front seat till her uncle urged her not to. Then he reached over and adjusted her seat belt just to be sure.

"A month till, huh?" He said. "You excited?"

"I guess." Lacy mumbled, leaning against the window.

"What's wrong?" He knew her game.

"Mom's going to increase our training regime, I just know it." Lacy moaned. Her uncle tapped the edge of the steering wheel in thought.

"But at least you'll get to see your friends and teammates again, right?" He said. "Besides, you can keep up with your mom no problem. Give it another year or two and you can probably even be better than her."

"I'm going to be taller than her." Lacy smirked.

"Maybe." He humored her. But their conversation ended there; they'd arrived at her apartment and her uncle stopped the car. "Here you are." He reached into the backseat and grabbed her bag for her.

"Can't you walk up with me?" She asked, confused. Uncle Lincoln looked kind of regretful and he shook his head.

"I think it's best you go yourself." He said, disappointing her.

"Ok…" She unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned over to hug him. Her put an arm around her back and hugged her tight.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" He said. "Maybe next time it'll just be the two of us."

"I'd like that." She said.

"We'll see." He gave her a pat on the back. "Off you go then. Try and give your mom a run for her money, for me, alright?"

"Got it." She let go. There was something else she wanted to say then, but she thought it'd be silly. So she didn't. So she just got out the car and watched him drive off.


	16. Bonus Chapter II

Another bonus chapter. Like the last one, this was written from something on the 4chan threads. And like the last one, I wanted to use this to expand a little on things and make the universe more understandable. It's just a single day in the back story, but there's a lot to gleam from it.

Sorry for anyone who saw the email and expected a new chapter. It's in progress.

In the past

The room was dark and silent, filled with the gentle snores of its occupants. Then from that same darkness came a noise like fussing, and very shortly that evolved into loud, grating, high pitched crying. It emanated from a crib on the right side of the room, reverberating all around the walls and quickly reaching the bunk bed situated on the opposite side.

"Luna…" The bottom occupant groaned, hiding under her covers.

"I hear her." The girl on the top bunk muttered. 17 year old Luna Loud swung her feet over the side of the bed before hopping down. Clad in only a t-shirt and her underwear, the brunette shuffled across the dark room by memory and stopped by the crib. She could just make out the toddler standing there holding onto the side.

"You're up early." Luna joked as the toddler's cries tapered off once she realized someone was there. A quick glance at the digital clock revealed it was only 2:31 in the morning. "C'mon." She lifted her out of the crib and grabbed a bag on the floor next to it by memory.

"I'm never making the same mistake." Luna's younger sister groaned from the bunk bed. She knew the truth. She was part of it, even.

"Smart move, dude." She yawned and carried the bag and the toddler outside into the hallway. The little girl in her right arm, despite quieting down before, grew impatient when she realized she wasn't getting what she wanted _immediately_ and started fussing.

"Lyra. Lyraaa." Luna sung her daughter's name to try and calm her down as she carried her into the bathroom. "I got you, little dudette." She grabbed a spare diaper from the bag and changed the fussing 14 month old. She didn't have to come all the way here to do that, but she'd woken up with a full bladder anyway. Besides, it'd probably take a while to get her daughter back to sleep and she didn't want to bother Luan with it.

The idea had already been proposed for Luna to just bunk with Leni now instead of staying in the room she shared with Luan. It made obvious sense to have the two girls with babies to share a room. Leni was by herself since Lori had moved out with Bobby and their little girl last summer anyway. But Luan had insisted, and practically begged, Luna not move out. So she was still there, despite the annoyances day and night of having a toddler in the room.

Getting changed put Lyra in a good enough mood she decided to wait till her mom was done and carrying her back into the hallway to start fussing again.

"What, hungry?" Luna guessed. The girl didn't stop fussing. "Alright, alright, we'll get you a midnight snack." Her words alone didn't placate her daughter, but taking her downstairs did.

See, babies were smart, smarter then people gave them credit for. Even before they could talk, they were good at giving you the run around. There'd always been at least one baby in this house (that was still ongoing technically) so Luna knew this. Lyra had stopped crying when Luna came up to the crib, when she prepared to change her, and now that she was walking into the kitchen, because she knew she was getting what she wanted.

They just liked to cry to make you hurry, cheeky little things.

Still sleepy, Luna hummed something close to a lullaby while she made a bottle. Lyra was already eating food, but she still had an appetite for milk, and once she started teething the way mother nature intended become too painful to deal with.

The little girl made a noise and reached out with her tiny hands as her mom removed the bottle from the microwave. See, they knew exactly what they wanted. Luna let her grab the bottle and she started sucking it down immediately. She was old enough to hold it on her own.

Luna shuffled out into the dark living room and sat on the couch, leaning back against the cushion. Her daughter laid on her arm and continued to drink, although Luna kept a tight grip on the purple onesie she was wearing to keep her from falling. Despite the darkness and how heavy her eyes felt, she stayed completely awake as she listened to her daughter drink till she was finally done.

"Happy now, little dude?" She yawned the question. Lyra curled up on her arm and seemed to get comfortable. "Thought so." From sitting up, Luna swung her legs up and adjusted herself so she was laying down. She shifted her daughter so that her head was resting on her right shoulder. Now she was resting snugly in the little dip between her mother's torso and her arm, against the back of the couch with no risk of falling off. Already drifting off to sleep by the look of it.

Luna decided she'd catch a few more zzzs too. Despite it being early February, the house was nice and toasty; having babies meant the thermostat was always turned up past 70. Maybe her legs were a little cold, but she was so tired it wouldn't keep her awake. Making sure again her daughter was comfortable and secure, she finally closed her eyes.

It wasn't the first time she'd done this. She just knew she'd wake up later with a blanket draped over her.

Morning came far too soon. With 14 people in the house, of course any morning would be loud and chaotic. Lyra woke up from the noise and, almost immediately after her, Luna did too. It was like a 6th sense. And just like she'd expected, someone had thrown a blanket over the lower half of her body.

She sat up while adjusting her daughter to her lap. Most of the noise echoed from the dining room behind her. "Come on, let's get you some breakfast." She stood up and carried her to the kitchen. From there, she got a glimpse into the dining room where everyone was already eating- her parents, her siblings, and her niece. They were already dressed and ready for either work or school.

She set Lyra on the counter and started looking in the cupboard for food when she heard footsteps coming up behind her.

"Hey mom." Luna glanced behind her just long enough to identify them as the matriarch of the house.

"I'll feed her. You go upstairs and get dressed.

"Nah, I got it." Luna declined the help.

"Luna, go get ready for school." That wasn't an offer; it was an order. Luna just knew she'd see a stern expression if she turned around. She was absolutely sick of that expression, so she left the kitchen with her head hung low to avoid eye contact.

It would be a lie to say she'd been getting along with her mother the past year. The last two, really. Sometimes it was little moments like that. Other times, it was full blown arguments. First it had been about getting pregnant. Now it was bitching about how she was raising HER daughter.

Luna really thought she could piss off on that last part.

Mom never rode Leni over these things, but she always seemed to be there to criticize Luna. Just last week they'd gotten into a shouting match. Lyra had started crying for a snack downstairs, so Luna had stopped her homework and come downstairs to do it. Apparently, that was a crime in this house.

It was obvious her mom just wanted Luna to finish school on a good note, but her idea to achieve that was to take care of Lyra entirely and cut Luna out of it so she wouldn't have any distractions. She was just supposed to sod off and not take care of her daughter? Bogus!

They'd nearly come to blows over it a few months ago, when it had been suggested Lyra's crib be moved to her parents' room. They tried to justify it with how much sleep both Luna and Luan was losing. Luna wouldn't have it, and even her younger sister backed her up despite the identical bags under her eyes. She'd gotten into another shouting match with her mother, and both of them seemed ready to take a swing at each other before Lincoln stepped in between them.

Luna smiled a bit as she reached the top of the stairs. Having Lyra might have caused a rift with her parents and some of her sisters by extension (don't associate with a trouble maker), but she knew she'd always have Leni and her little bro behind her.

She went into her room and slipped off her sleeping clothes to get dressed for the day. Having a baby on board had meant loose fitting clothes, but there was nothing that said she couldn't go back after having the baby. Skirts and t-shirts were still in good style.

Fitting into them was a different story. You know those things they call baby fat and after baby thighs? They were real, and they were impossible to get rid of without prescribing to Lynn's borderline torture. Luna never had; she'd always kept thin with her constant rocking- bobbing, weaving, moving around. Couldn't do that while pregnant or have the time for it now when taking care of a baby. She'd have to be bothered to dig her axe out of the closet behind the mass of stuff that'd been moved to fit the crib and other things in the first place. She managed to squeeze into her usual outfit regardless and headed back downstairs.

The dining room was just as loud as when she'd gone upstairs. Like always, mom and pop were sitting together at one end of the table with Lily. The three-year-old no longer youngest child had grown out of a need for a highchair. At the other end where Luna and Leni sat was Lyra's highchair and Liena's empty one; Leni liked to hold her daughter in her lap now. And between them and their parents on the other side of the table was all of their siblings sans Lori.

"Good morning!" You think a kid would make someone always sluggish on the mornings. But for whatever reason it made Leni bubbly and happy every morning.

"Morning, dude." Luna yawned before looking over at her daughter. "Miss me, dudette?" Lyra was reaching out for her. Luna let her grab her hand and the little girl smiled. The simple things were the most precious.

Leni had already fed Lyra half of what was on her plate in front of her. Luna spooned some of it up and lifted it up. "Open up." Her little girl opened her mouth eagerly.

Everyone else was talking about whatever was going on in their life to each other or their parents- sports, show bookings, school events. None of them spoke to Luna or Leni. That was something else about having a kid of your own: people suddenly thought you were too busy to bother. She wasn't going to lie- it was kind of the pits being cut out of things.

There was one person though who bothered to acknowledge them. She noticed Lincoln watching all four of them at the end of the table, looking antsy. Luna winked at him. Luan was the only person to recognize the interaction.

After breakfast, everyone had to get ready for school or work. All of them left the dining room, except for Lincoln, Luna, Liena, and their little girls. "Come on," Luna lifted Lyra out of her high chair. "You pop wants to see you." She turned around and handed the toddler to her daddy. Lincoln took her and lifted her up by holding under her arms.

"Hey." He said softly. He leaned in and mumbled something. Lyra must've liked whatever it was, because she giggled.

Seemed like every morning they did this, and it never got any less adorable. Or 'totes cute!' as Leni would put it. Speaking of which, she put the slightly heftier Liena in his other arm so he was holding both of them. Lincoln always had that same awed expression on his 13-year-old face, like it was the first time he was seeing either of his daughters again.

Maybe that's how it was to him; as Luna had to remind herself many times, he really didn't get a chance to see them as much. There were reasons why.

"Luna! Leni!" It was their mom. "Gets the girls ready to go to daycare!" There was a brief flash on panic in Lincoln's eyes when he heard the matriarch's voice followed by disappointment as he sadly handed back both girls to their mothers. He'd only had both his daughters for just over a minute. Both of them seemed upset at the abrupt separation as well.

"Sorry dude." Luna said sympathetically. They all headed upstairs.

What's the answer to the problem of there being three children in the house who were too young to go to school, but everyone else in the house either had work or school? Or the fathers of the two youngest were gone and unwelcomed? (That was the parents' idea, but Luna and Leni knew the truth) Daycare, obviously. Five days of the week. All money that came out of their parents' paychecks, as they were quick to remind Luna.

Luna got her dressed and checked the bag to make sure everything needed was in there. While she was doing that, Lynn came upstairs to tell Leni her friend was waiting outside- someone she'd met in one of her classes at the craft school she was going to. They carpooled together every morning.

After that, a warning came up the stairs that the bus for the high school would be coming soon. That got Lynn and Luan out of the house. Luna took Lyra, the bag, and her backpack downstairs and sat in the living room. Liena and Lily were already there, her sister entertaining her niece. Lincoln came into the living room like he was about to sit down next to her, but then the bus for the middle school came. He had to leave.

They both thought it was a bummer.

"Can I play with Lyra?" Lily asked, already dressed in her puffy coat like the others. The girl, just short of her 4th birthday, rocked back and forth innocently.

"Sure dude. Just for a few minutes though, 'k?" Luna handed Lyra off to her aunt. Lily absolutely loved playing with her two nieces. They might as well be sisters from how close they were in age. Luna leaned on the arm of the couch and watched them for a while. The elementary school bus came, and the last of her siblings were gone too. That just left Luna, her folks, and the three toddlers in the house.

"Come on Lily, it's time to go." Rita stepped into the living room and picked up Liena. Lily followed her mom out. Nothing had been said to Luna, but she picked up Lyra and the bags and followed. Outside, her pops was already sitting in Vanzilla's passenger seat. Her mom was already strapping Liena and Lily into the second row of seats. Luna wordlessly climbed into the back row and started strapping Lyra into her own car seat.

Every morning the parents took the youngest to a babysitter, dad got dropped off at work, and then mom went to work. The last four months had added Luna tagging along to drop her daughter off personally and then her mom dropping her off at school, at the former rocker's insistence. It had been decided suddenly one morning. A very loud and argument filled morning that Luna had eventually won out after her parents realized she won't back down.

Every single one of those rides so far had been dead silent affairs. Tense silence, not awkward silence. There was no point trying to identify or fix it- it was already obvious. The same exact disappointment as 2 years ago, and the exact same argument they'd been having the last year over who would raise Lyra.

They could be silent and angry all they wanted though. Luna wasn't going to relent.

Since it was the still winter, the outside of the daycare was entirely deserted. They had to carry all the girls in. Mom carried Liena and Lily walked beside her. Luna trailed with Lyra. Pops stayed in the van. The inside was bright, warm, and colorful.

Once upon a time, Lily had been enrolled in an elite one. But that was gone now- too much of a hassle to drive her to that daycare and then Liena and Lyra to one on the other side of town. That could've been something to feel guilty about, but Luna had overheard Lily talking about how she liked the new one more, so her conscience was at ease.

Dropping your kid off meant checking them in with one of the staff who'd mark them as being there. Luna always made a point to hand Lyra off to a different person then Liena and Lily.

"Have fun with your friends, dude." Luna told her daughter once she was in the employee's arms and flashed the horns. Lyra made a loud noise and stuck her fist out, smiling. She'd get there one day. "See you later, dude." Ironically, Lyra had learned to not get upset over these separations by this point. Her mother hadn't, which was why she didn't see her looking back over as her shoulder as she left the building.

Luna wouldn't get to see her daughter again till that evening. Bloody school.

After that, it was dropping dad off at his job as a chef. Once upon a time, he'd had inspirations on opening his own restaurant, even getting a few investors lined up. A passion of life turned into a career. It'd gone on hold when he'd become a grandparent. That, all of them did feel a guilty about. But it could still happen. The date had just been pushed back.

Her mom and dad said goodbye to each other, lovey-dovey even at their age, and he got out without saying a thing to Luna.

"Luna." Her mom saying her name sounded pretty similar to a sigh, she noticed. She barely heard it from the back row.

"Oi?" She acknowledged.

"Why don't you come sit up front?" Her mother offered. She wanted something. But Luna still climbed her way over the two rows of seats to plop down into the front passenger seat and buckled herself in. Her mother didn't say anything immediately; she put the van in drive and drove off. The silence managed to last three whole streets before her mother started talking again.

"We got a packet on graduation photo options in the mail." She revealed to Luna. Graduation was in May, and it sounded like they were already trying to capitalize on it. "Aren't you excited?" Her mother sounded just a little enthusiastic.

Luna felt a small pang of guilt. There was more than just the woman that seemed to want to keep her away from her daughter; there was still the mother who was happy to see her children succeed.

"Yeah." She leaned back and put her feet on the dashboard. "No more school's out for summer. School's out forever." Graduation didn't match the context of the song she was quoting, but you got the idea. Luna couldn't wait; school had become an absolute tosser in the last year and a half.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do after you graduate?" Her mother asked her now, voice cautious.

"Get a job and an apartment." Luna replied automatically. That had been the plan for a while now. Well, the full plan had been to get an apartment with Leni for the next four years, but that sounded suspicious.

"How about college?" Her mother asked in a peppery and hopeful voice. "Or a trade school like Leni?"

"Nah." Luna brushed the ideas off. "I've had enough schooling. Besides, I'll have a hard enough time looking after Lyra with just a job."

"We can look after Lyra, dear." Her mother interjected. There was no excitement or cheer in her voice now, real or forced. "And you can use the time to make something better of yourself." Oh, so that's what this conversation was about? Insisting now that even after she graduated, she still wasn't fit to be raising her daughter? Drag on the torture for a few years longer? Luna had only one response to that.

"Fuck off."

" _Luna!_ " Her mother gasped. Not even angry, just extremely shocked.

"That's bogus and you know it!" She accused. "You guys just want to get Lyra away from me!" Her mom tried to talk, but Luna cut her off. "I'm already finishing school. What the hell more do you and pops want?" Luna didn't wait for an answer. Even though they were driving down the road, she unbuckled her seat belt and climbed over the seats back to the third row over her mother's protests.

The rest of the ride was the usual dead silence, but when they got to Royal Woods High School, her mom told her to have a good day. Luna said nothing.

It was ironic school served as her escape; normally Luna couldn't stand the place. Never liked it to begin with, but she out right hated it now. But the reason was less 'We don't need no education' and more 'Everyone's an ass'. No witty song pun there. A lot of her peers really were just assholes.

Assholes that loved to talk. Loved to point and stare. Fucking cunts. First they did it when she got with Sam, then again when Lyra came around. Leni hadn't gotten this kind of attention, just pity. But Luna? Obviously, she was just a whore.

But what did they know? Still, Luna couldn't wait to be out of this dump. She was only hovering about low Bs, but it was enough to graduate.

Besides occasionally seeing Lynn in passing Freshman mobs, she did have one good thing going for her here. One daily break from a slog she just wished to be over quickly. She still had friends. They had been her band mates too, but Luna hadn't played anything in a long time. No reason to bail on her though. The four of them still got together before classes and during lunch.

Sam was part of the group, obviously. Luna could still say she had that going for her. There was Jenny and John too- the drummer and singer respectively although Luna filled that second role sometimes herself. They'd even wrote a few songs with two singers. Had. Past tense.

But again, they were still friends. They'd at least shown some concern when she got pregnant. They didn't hold it against her when she physically couldn't play with them anymore or was too busy. They all still loved to hang out and talk, and they were their own little clique in school with their own dress style: rocking.

Weren't for them, Luna might've honestly dropped out and found a job.

Going to their usual spot in the cafeteria before classes started though, she noticed Sam was the only one sitting there. The other two were probably sneaking around somewhere; they were an item like Sam and Luna had been. Had been. "Hey Sam." Luna greeted the only blond in the group as she set her bag down and fell into a seat.

"Luna, dude." The enthusiasm in her voice was a little forced. "You…don't look so good." She noticed.

"Yeah. Lyra had me up last night." Luna explained.

"Right." Sam acknowledged, not even bothering to try sounding interested.

They'd been an item when it happened, and in spite it all Sam had seemed willing to power through it. It'd been at a party, Luna had insisted. Bad things happened at parties sometimes. So why blame her? But the lack of trauma and an unsuccessfully suppressed trickle of enthusiasm clued Sam into the fact no matter how much Luna denied it: The hookup that had caused it had been, if not intentional and pre-planned, not regretted at all. Things had gotten tenser and tenser and silently broken off around the time Lyra was born.

And that really cut Luna deep. She really wished she could explain it to her ex-girlfriend, that there wasn't any infidelity. But even if Luna could get it out, she was pretty sure the other girl just wouldn't understand. But they were still friends, and Luna tried her damnedest to keep that alive.

"Where are the others?" Luna asked.

"They'll get here soon." Sam mumbled.

"You alright, Sam?" Luna asked. Her old flame said nothing, but Luna knew something was up. "C'mon dude, you can tell me!" Luna insisted. She found out a moment later, but not from Sam.

"Luna!" John and Jenny were coming over to the table. The brown-haired boy and purple-haired girl were both waving, and even from here Luna could see the excitement on their faces. They quickly slid into their seats, and the whole band was together, with their stylish hair and outdated fashion sense.

"Did Sam already tell you?" Jenny asked.

"Tell me what?" Luna looked between her friends, two excited and one not meeting her gaze. One of the former pushed a piece of paper into Luna's hands, but Jenny was already talking before she digested even one word.

"We got picked up! A label in California. They're going to fly us out there once school's done." Luna's eyes rapidly flew over the paper, taking in the heading and logo at the top of the page, all the technical terms, and the address at the bottom. It was an actual business letter, and some words stuck out: 'contract' and 'royalties' in particular.

"Dudes…" Luna said in awe, looking up at them. "You guys made it!" She lifted her hand up for a high five. "Hell yeah!" She got two hard replies from those two, and only a half-hearted one from Sam. It was obvious something was up with her, but Luna figured she'd ask somewhere that wasn't in front of their other two friends. The bell rang 5 minutes later and they separated, since they didn't have any classes together.

At lunch later that school day, Luna got lucky and caught Sam in their usual table alone; the others were at another talking to some of their more casual friends. And just like that morning, Sam seemed awkward.

"You alright, dude?" Luna leaned over the table and whispered. "You made it! California's going to be awesome. So why so down?" Sam met her eyes for more than five seconds for the first time that day, like she was scrutinizing her.

"Aren't you upset at _all_?" She asked, throwing Luna for a loop.

"Upset?" Luna asked.

"That we got a deal and you didn't."

"What, you mean jealous? C'mon Sam, that isn't me! I'm happy for you guys, really!" She insisted. The blond looked at her critically and questioningly.

"Are you sure?" Now she sounded uncertain. "You always wanted to hit it big more than us."

"Yeah, but I got my own thing going here with Lyra." Luna answered, and as the words were leaving her mouth something started to pick up in her mind. "But I still support you guys." She finished, and as the last word left her mouth she felt a slight jump in her chest and her smile starting to slip slightly.

"Guess you don't like music that much anymore…" Sam let that hang in the air, frowning too. Luna opened her mouth, wanting to refute that. But the thoughts running through her head prevented that.

Luna had just had a stark realization: music, the interest that had always defined her, wasn't really part of her anymore. They talked about it, yeah, but words were cheap compared to actually playing. She couldn't even remember picking up her guitar in the last year. Sam was right. It stunned Luna just how much she hadn't really thought about it. Hell, did the subject even breech her mind besides the two times a day she saw her friends?

The reality was creeping in on her on how different she really was from her friends. Music was their lives now. Luna probably wouldn't see them after this. See Sam after this. She'd be doing something else entirely. Somehow the fact their paths would diverge hadn't crossed her mind.

Luna could've gone with them.

All of this hit her in just a moment, and she sat there blinking. So what? She wondered. She didn't know. All that information and she had no idea what to make of it. She even forgot to respond to Sam's claim. The blond teen was watching her for a reaction and Luna just sat there dumbly. She did so for the rest of lunch, and then through her last two classes of the day.

When school was out, she caught the bus home. She was still thinking about that realization until she got home and the subject and all the worry with it left her mind.

The tykes didn't get home until the evening; mom and dad picked them up on their way home. Leni's classes took her even later into the evening then them. Luna could've done it if she had a ride, but those were expensive. So the afternoon was spent lazing on the couch glancing at the clock every now and then.

They got back a ways past six, Lily skipping through the door and pulling off her coat on her own and the 'rents coming in after with mom carrying both. "Thank you." She took Lyra out of her arms before she even uttered a word. "Hey dude." Luna held her daughter up in front of her. Lyra squealed and kicked her feet. "Yes, it's momma." Luna coo'd, carrying her up the stairs.

When she set foot on the second floor, she didn't head to her room. Instead, she diverted to a room at the end of the hall. No one was in there at the moment, but its owner had seen them come in. He'd be there shortly.

Lyra giggled as Luna laid on the bed and lifted her up in the air like she was flying, a toothing smile responding to her mother's softer one.

As early as a year ago Luna had still had dreams of grandeur. Being a Rockstar. Her face plastered all over magazines and tv screens across the country and maybe beyond. More money then she could ever spend. Mansions and houses she'd never visit but people would tell her were nice. Thousands of people chanting her name.

But interest had gradually started to wane over time, and it had only been today after Sam pointed it out that Luna realized how much she'd forgotten her own ambition. And right at this moment she had an epiphany why: she was looking right at the reason.

It was no where near as exciting, but it scratched the same itch. She had the biggest fan in the world right in her arms.

The bedroom door opened, and Lincoln slipped in before quickly closing it. Lyra squealed when she saw him. Luna sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed as Lincoln sat down beside her. He picked Lyra up out of her lap and held her in front of him and starting baby-speaking to her, much to her amusement.

Maybe there was another reason Luna's interest in being a traveling star had waned. And had to do more with her daughter than herself.

Was she being too casual about this? It felt like it was supposed to be some big part of her life was over. But she didn't really seem a little upset. Bummed out Sam was going to move away, yeah, but not really sad. She hadn't even dwelled on it once she got home. She'd just stared at the clock waiting…

"Is something wrong?" Lincoln took his attention off Lyra to look at her.

"What? Oh." Luna realized she must've been staring into space. "I'm cool. Just thinking about something."

"About what?" Lincoln asked.

"Nothing really, just… you remember my old band?" She asked him. "Sam, Jenny, and John?" She noticed a slight reaction when she mentioned Sam.

"Yeah." He said, voice uneven. "What about them?" Lyra was starting to twist in his lap, so Luna reached over and pulled her back in her own.

"Someone in Cali picked them up. They're flying out there after we all graduate. The band's going big, but I'm still gonna be here. And I started thinking about it and realized that beyond Sam moving away it doesn't really bother me." She looked over at him while he frowned in anxious concern. She looked back to Lyra, staring up at her curiously. "And I'm just wondering if it's weird, you know? Giving up music."

"Giving up?" Lincoln asked in surprise. "You can't give up on music!"

"Dude, I ain't played my axe in months." Luna told him. "Been busy looking after our little dudette here." She looked at her daughter, who'd adjusted herself to rest her head on her mom's arm. Something else with them: they can be wide awake and then fast asleep within minutes, and Lyra looked she was ready for a doze. "And I realized that's kind of what I want."

"Well, you can always start again. You're that good!" He insisted.

"I appreciate the encouragement, Lincoln, but I put all that stuff in storage for a reason. Can't do both."

"Well, you could always…"

"Hang on, bro. I think Lyra's ready for a nap." The toddler's eyes were closed. "I'll go lay her down." Luna stood slowly up.

Luan wasn't in their room when she went to lay Lyra down. Luna set her down and laid a blanket over her. She stood by the side, looking down for a few minutes to make sure she was absolutely asleep before heading back. Lincoln was still sitting there, looking anxious.

"Why the long face?" Luna asked.

"Isn't it a little early to be swearing off music?" He asked her as she sat on the edge of the bed and then pivoted to lay down.

"You know, I realized something today: I don't really care about tunes anymore. Listening, sure, but playing? Nah." Luna dismissed the idea while she stared up at the ceiling.

"But…what will you do instead?" He asked.

"Stay here and get a job. Something that can get a place for me and Lyra to stay. Kind of have to."

"You can always let her stay here," He suggested. "That way you can still play-" He shut up when Luna suddenly jerked upwards, glaring. "Uhh…"

"Dude." She wasn't in a good mood. "No way. Mom and Pop are already trying to get me do that. I'm not giving in to them!" He asked what she meant, so she explained the conversation with Mom that morning. "It's bullshit! And now you too?" He flinched.

"I just thought I could take care of her…" Luna's attitude started to ebb, and she realized she'd gone a little off the handle.

"Alright, sorry. Got a little angry there." She scratched the back of her head. She thought she had a reason to complain about her parents interfering. Lincoln probably wished he could see either Liena or Lyra as much as their mothers; Mom and Pop seemed to think letting any of the younger siblings in the house get interested in the subject of babies would be a bad idea, so they tried to keep them away. Probably other reasons too.

Lincoln still tried anyway. Sneaking whatever moments possible. Luna wasn't above feeling guilt for what had happened and the few people hurt by it. Lincoln didn't have it nearly as bad; he still liked to read his comics, he still hung out with friends he had at school. Luna was pretty sure he even still spoke to Ronnie Ann online.

This had never been about romance.

Point was though, he hadn't given anything up. And he didn't have to.

"Lincoln, bro." She told him as he laid down on his side next to her, head propped on a hand. "It's cool. It's like being a star too." She explained the fan analogy she'd thought of earlier. "I'm still following my own dreams."

"So you don't want to go back to music at _all_?" He asked. "I can watch her when she gets older. And then you can play then." Always thinking of ways to help. 'This'll ruin your life' was something their parents had said to Luna, and Lincoln seemed determined to avert that.

"Maybe." She agreed. She couldn't drum up the enthusiasm now, but maybe her feelings would change later. Her daughter would be older one day. Her daughter wouldn't need her as much. Luna wouldn't even be in her mid 30s by the time Lyra was an adult, and plenty of rockers had started their careers later than that. And she'd have to afford Lincoln some time with Lyra, time Luna could use to herself...

Maybe she was getting her enthusiasm for music back after all. "You're good at this bro."

"Huh? Good at what?" He asked.

"Why don't you lock the door?" Luna suggested with a wink. His head slipped from his hand and he clumsily rolled off the bed and stumbled over to the door to lock it before hurrying back over the bed. Luna lifted her left leg up enough for him to slip under and get between both of them, upon which Luna locked them around his midsection and pulled him close.

Then they started hearing crying from somewhere on the second floor outside. "LUNA!" That was Lola's voice. "Get out here!" Had to be Lyra. She took some of the shortest naps in the world. Oh well.

"Maybe another time, bro." Luna got up. He didn't look upset and neither did she.

In their own way, they each knew what was more important.


	17. Chapter 17

His phone was ringing. Lincoln groaned and shifted on his couch. What time was it? Too early, if there was no natural sunlight filtering through the windows. Lincoln tossed his blanket off himself and stumbled up and over to his desk. Only seven people had his number, but it was probably Leni; she always seemed to forget the concept of time zones. But just in case…

When he got over to the desk he picked it up. UNKNOWN CALLER above a number he didn't recognize. He squinted at the harsh light. It stopped ringing and switched back to the normal display, letting him know it was 4:56. Not abominably early, but still too early for him. He tossed it down again and zombie walked back to the couch.

Then it rang again. Lincoln looked back to see it still said unknown caller, same number. Telemarketers didn't call twice, or at bad hours. His imagination started running wild. Maybe something had happened and someone was borrowing a phone to call him? Lincoln hit accept and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello?" It was a male voice, just slightly accented. "Is this Lincoln Loud?" It asked.

"Uh…y-yeah." He answered, wide awake and heart suddenly pounding. Someone was looking for him. The only other time someone had been looking for him-

"Hey Bro! It's Bobby! Bobby Santiago. Remember?" Bobby?!

"Bobby?!" Lincoln pulled out his desk chair and fell onto it.

"Yeah, man." The man sounded just as jovial as Lincoln remembered. "Been a long time, huh?"

"Yeah. Real long time." Lincoln agreed. Long? How long? He tried to do some math in his head. The last time he'd physically seen Bobby had been…heck, that'd been when Lori had moved out. Over a decade ago. Last time he'd seen either of them. "Uh…why are you calling me at 5 in the morning?" He asked. How'd he even get his number?

"Oh…yeah." Bobby sounded more subdued. "Sorry about that, but it's kind of an emergency."

"Emergency?" Lincoln repeated, getting tired of the darkness and going to flip on the light switch for the living room. "What happened?" He asked, getting worried again. "Is Lori ok?"

"Yeah, babe's fine. It's a long story. You know how she's into business?"

"Yeah, yeah." Lincoln nodded. He knew that, even if he'd only learned it from Lyra recently. "A manager or something, right?"

"Actually, she moved up to a board a few weeks ago!" Bobby sounded so proud of his wife.

"Hey, that's pretty good." Lincoln smiled. Lori really had gone far since he'd last seen her. "But what's the problem?"

"Well, it's confusing." Bobby admitted. "I guess some other members of the board were doing things they weren't supposed to, and the cops started investigating the entire thing. They raided our house about an hour ago."

"They raided your house?!" Lincoln stood up.

"Yeah. Scared all of us. Babe was really mad." Lincoln heard the other man shudder. "I don't think I've ever seen her that angry before. She said she was going to sue everyone."

"But you're all alright?" Lincoln interjected. First time he hears about his oldest sister in over a decade and it's because the cops kicked in her door.

"Yeah, we're all fine." His brother in law assured him. "But the main reason I'm calling is Loan."

Loan. Just hearing that name made his heart skip a beat, his hands turn clammy, and a confused jumble of emotions. "What about her?" He managed some convincing neutral concern.

"She got really shook up by it." Bobby explained, with obvious fatherly concern in his voice. "And since the police are doing their investigation, Lori wants Loan away for a few weeks." Lincoln's heartbeat quickened. "We were going to have her stay with my family, but no one's available. The cops are investigating the bodega too anyway- something about money laundering."

"Oh man." Lincoln breathed.

"Yeah…but everyone's still okay! Anyway, we called you and Lori's parents asking if she could stay with them, but they're at a college orientation with Lily right now."

Lily was in college already?

"So I called Lori and she gave me your number."

Lori had suggested him? Lori had his number? She knew he lived back in Royal Woods? She knew he was even alive?

"I know it's really bad to call you up on short notice like this-" Bobby started.

"She can stay at my place." Lincoln said immediately. "I'm in the center of town." He gave the address and room number. Bobby sighed in relief.

"Lincoln Loud, you are a life saver." He said, and Lincoln grinned to himself just a little. "It won't be for long, we promise. And we'll pay you back."

"It's nothing." Lincoln swore. "Where are you now?"

"On the highway. About 2 hours away from Royal Woods. I really need to focus on the road now, but we'll be there soon, yeah?"

"Yeah. I'll uh…I'll be downstairs waiting. See you soon." The call ended, and as soon as it did Lincoln jumped from his seat. His hands were shaking. His heart was beating a mile a minute. His movements clumsy from the combination of a body still tired and a mind energized by shock.

Loan. God, there was a name he hadn't figured on hearing again. Or see. He hadn't physically seen her since she was only a few months old. And for the few years after that only on a Christmas card sent to the house every Christmas. His…

…niece?

And just like that he crashed back down, suddenly drained. An old conundrum, displaced long ago by forefront concerns and repeated self-assurances, abruptly back to the front of his mind. A matter that had nagged day and night.

A matter he put aside for now just as he always had. He had to make ready for a guest. Muscle memory led him to the couch to get that ready before he remembered he was already sleeping on the couch; Lyra and Lemy were in the bedroom.

Oh. He smacked himself upside the head. Idiot! Inviting someone to stay when you didn't have somewhere for them to sleep. Well, he did have a sleeping bag- a relic from his days before Royal Woods that anyone could fit in. But that just seemed like being a bad host. He guessed he could give the couch up for a few nights.

But man did he hate that sleeping bag.

He cleared the couch off, remade it, and retrieved the sleeping bag from the hallway closet. He guessed the kitchen would work for a few days. Speaking of, did he have enough food? He went to check. Stocked well enough that he wouldn't run out for a few days. He could always go to the store if there wasn't anything she'd eat.

Two hours till they got here. Two hours to contemplate.

Lori. That was a burned bridge Lincoln never expected to be rebuilt. He felt bad about what happened. He could understand why things turned out the way they did. He accepted it. He'd accepted it for years before he had to leave Royal Woods. Asking Lyra about it had been a moment of weakness brought on by opportunity, but it didn't change his resolve to let bygones be bygones.

But here it was. He for the life of him couldn't figure out how Lori had gotten his number in the first place. And why would she recommend him as a fallback instead of literally anyone else?

She still talked to Luna evidently, and one of the last interactions those two had had was Lori threatening to bludgeon her with a golf club. No, that was inaccurate; Lori had outright been swinging the that thing over Leni's head trying to hit Luna. But apparently, they'd reconciled, or Lori had forgiven her. Had she forgiven him too without reaching out?

 _Luna_. As far as Lincoln knew, she was only one who still talked to Lori. His younger sisters besides Lucy probably did too, but Lincoln wasn't in contact with them. For all he knew, mom and dad had told them he was dead. Had Luna given her his number?

Damn, it was probably too early to call and find out.

He glanced at the clock again. 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Well, Lori seemed to be doing well. He'd always wondered, but he'd always had faith. She was smart. She was driven. They always imagined she'd go far, and she had. But she'd never been a crook; all of them had been a little underhanded, but not criminals. Whatever Bobby had talked about was surely false.

1 hour and 40 minutes.

How _did_ Lori and Luna reconcile though? They'd been wiling to kill each other. Over him, he had to remind himself. What changed? He had been gone for a few years though, and a lot could change in a few years- he'd had four (five?) kids in as many years before things slowed down.

Was it really that late though? Luna WAS one of the family's night owls. Without even realizing it, Lincoln had picked up his phone. He stared down at the unlit screen. Even if she was awake, could she talk? Would she be drunk? He brought it to life with a tap of the screen. Might as well try. He brought up her number and hit 'call' and held it to his ear.

It rang. And rang. And rang. For at least 15 seconds. Lincoln was sure he wasn't going to get an answer and was about to hit the 'end' button just he heard a click. "'Ello?"

"Luna, hey." Lincoln said quickly. "Sorry for calling so early. You're not busy, are you?"

"Nah. I'm at a waffle place in Arizona. Whole band's getting some early food. Why, what's up?" There was a little concern in her question.

"Nothing bad." He said quickly. "Nothing to do with Lyra and Lemy. Actually…I was calling about Lori." There was a moment of surprised silence on the other end. It didn't surprise him; all of them had pretty much sworn off on ever discussing their eldest sister.

"What about her?" Luna finally found her words.

"Did you…give her my number by any chance?"

"Yeah." Luna admitted. "Like a year ago. I gave her everyone's number. She's cool now…mostly," she added, "so I thought, you know…" She trailed off. "Why?" She asked. "Did she call you?"

"No. Bobby did though, and he said Lori gave it to him. You said you gave it to her a _year_ ago?"

"I think." Luna said uncertainly. "But I asked the others and they said she never called, so I figured she never did. Looking back, it probably wasn't a good move… What did Bobby call about?"

"The cops raided their house."

"Whoa!"

"Yeah." Lincoln said tiredly. "First time I've heard of her in years and it's because of that. Anyway, they asked me to watch Loan for a few-"

"Loan?!" Luna interrupted.

"Yeah." Lincoln confirmed. "Their daughter, remember?" Jeez, that hadn't sounded phoned in at all. But Luna wouldn't play along.

"Dude, I know what you're thinking. Don't." She warned. "Lori broke a full wine bottle and nearly shanked me when I did."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." Sticking to it was pure habit at this point. "She's just staying here a few days and then they'll come pick her up." He heard Luna sigh on the other end.

"Bro, just…be careful, okay? Don't get too excited."

"I won't." He defended.

"Have you actually spoken to Lori?" She asked him next.

"No. Just Bobby." He reaffirmed.

"If you talk to Lori, just watch what you say." Luna urged. If Lincoln ever got to talk to his oldest sister again, the first thing he'd probably do was say he was sorry.

"Right…Thanks Luna, I just wanted to be sure of where she got it. I should get going now."

"Call me back once she goes home, bro." Luna asked. "Just call me."

"I will." He swore. "Have fun on tour. I'll talk to you soon."

"Same to you dude." The enthusiasm was missing from her voice. Lincoln clicked 'end call' and let out a breath he'd been holding in. How long had that call lasted? 1 hour and 21 minutes till they got here. Lincoln sat back in his chair.

Luna was worrying too much, he thought to himself. Lori may have been a boogeyman to her and the others during her last year in the house, but never to him. Only cold. And besides, this had been her idea from what Bobby said. Luna herself said Lori had calmed down.

Maybe this was a test of some sort? He could hope. In case it was, he absolutely had to make a good impression. Was this place dirty at all? He looked around and realized it really could look a little tidier. So he spent the next twenty minutes cleaning up the living room and then the kitchen.

And after that, despite the fact they still wouldn't arrive for another hour at the very least, Lincoln donned a jacket and went downstairs to wait outside. The sun was starting to rise, but it was still only in the mid 50s. And he only sat on the front steps wringing his hands for a few minutes before deciding to walk down to Flip's (it was automated, so it didn't need to close) for a cheap and unhealthy breakfast. Anything besides standing still; he was too antsy for that.

5 minutes. 10 minutes. Time passed so slowly. Other people came out of the apartment to leave for work. Most of them Lincoln only knew in passing. The parking spaces on the street slowly started emptying. He forced himself to sit down on the front steps again, mindful of looking like a jittery mess.

Eventually, a vehicle pulled up into one of the vacant spots: a luxury SUV. Lincoln looked up at the vehicle curiously as the driver door opened and out stepped an aged but still very recognizable Bobby Santiago. The older man jogged over.

"Lincoln! Dude!" He smiled and grabbed Lincoln's hand, shaking it vigorously. It's good to see you again!"

"Yeah, you too." Lincoln smiled, looking him up and down. He was just a little taller now, and stockier with muscle. He had a slight mustache now too. But otherwise, he didn't look all that different.

"You got tall man." He observed. "And skinny."

"Yeah, well, athletics were never my thing." Lincoln laughed. "Glad to see you look okay…"

"Like I said, they only scared us." Bobby shook his head, then frowned. "Although they roughed up Nini; she almost threw a punch at one of them." Nini? Wait…

"Ronnie Ann?" Lincoln guessed, the name sounding dusty on his tongue. It wasn't a name he'd said recently, that was for sure.

"Yeah." Bobby nodded. "She's been staying with us after her apartment burned down. She was in the kitchen when they came in and I guess she thought it was a break in."

"Well…I'm glad you're all okay." Lincoln said for another time that night.

"Yeah, it could've been worse." Bobby admitted reluctantly. He seemed to suddenly remember why he was there. "Oh yeah, here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bill fold that had a fifty on the outer layer. "For expenses and as a thanks." Some modest part of Lincoln wanted to decline, but he knew realistically that he had to.

"Right. It's no problem. Was I really the only one?" He was still wondering about that.

"Pretty much." Bobby shrugged. "Nini's apartment burned down, like I said. Our mom's in the hospital for surgery."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Lincoln said apologetically.

"She's fine." Bobby assured. "But she was the only other one who could watch her; all my cousins are traveling, and my uncle took his wife to a conference in Mexico. That only left Lori's family, and she suggested you after your parents couldn't take her."

"Bad luck." Lincoln said sympathetically, although his mind was spinning.

"Lori said the same thing, actually." Bobby revealed. "But we're grateful man, really." Bobby swore.

"It's no problem, really." Lincoln insisted once more. Bobby nodded.

"I'll go get her." He turned, then stopped like he'd just remembered to say something. "She's a really sweet girl like her mom. But she's a little nervous around people she doesn't know. So don't worry if she's a little jumpy." Lincoln nodded. He was used to that.

Bobby went over to the SUV and opened the passenger door. It looked like he was talking to someone, although Lincoln couldn't see between the tinted windows and the gleam of the rising sun. After a full minute, he stepped back and someone stepped out with a bag in one hand: Loan.

Lincoln hadn't had any idea of what to expect. That she'd look like Lori would've made the most sense, obviously. But as she walked towards him with Bobby behind her, Lincoln realized that beyond the same hair color there weren't many similarities. He had to search his mind to remember a birthday, but he was sure she was 15 like Lyra was, and Lincoln remembered what Lori looked like when she was 15. Lori had had braces and acne and honestly looked like a dork.

Loan was small and skinny but didn't have either of those. Compared to Lori's thick and styled hair, Loan's was stringier and laid flat on her head. As she got closer though, Lincoln noticed a few other things that made him frown. She wasn't just skinny; she seemed unnaturally thin- her blouse and skirt just barely fit. There were dark marks under her eyes, which seemed to be darting every which way. She looked frail and jumpy.

Her eyes stopped moving to look at him as they approached. What expression was that? Not fear. It looked a little like contempt, even.

"Loan, this is your Uncle Lincoln." Bobby introduced him.

"Hi." She said simply. She had something in her hand- an expensive looking new phone- and brought it up to look at it.

"Hi." Lincoln tried to keep sounding amiable. "I haven't seen you in a long time. You've grown."

"Duh." She didn't look up. Lincoln blinked in surprise then looked up at an apologetically smiling Bobby.

"I can take your bag, if you want." Lincoln offered. It suddenly landed at his feet. "Uh…right." He knelt down and picked it up. "I'll go put this upstairs." He left them to say their goodbyes and such. As he walked up the steps, he couldn't help but smirk to himself. Loan was fascinated with her phone and got other people to do things for her.

She was definitely Lori's.

He went into his apartment and set it down beside the couch before hurrying back down. He got there just in time to see Bobby giving his daughter a tight hug and saying something that was probably encouragement in her ear. Lincoln hung back, to let his brother-in-law and niece have their moment, till they broke apart and Bobby beckoned him over.

"It was great seeing you again, Lincoln. Really great."

"Yeah. Nice seeing you too." Lincoln agreed. "Just wish it could be under different circumstances."

"Maybe sometime soon, yeah?" Bobby suggested optimistically.

"Hopefully." Lincoln agreed. It'd be a chance to apologize to Lori. He said goodbye in a few different ways and just had to give his daughter two more goodbye hugs, but Bobby eventually realized that Lori needed him back at home and left, just after 7:30 in the morning.

It was just the two of them now.

"C'mon. I'll show you which apartment it is." Lincoln's niece followed him into the building without a word. He stepped into the apartment and held the door open while she came in. Loan took a seat on the couch right next to her bag while Lincoln walked over to his desk chair.

"You got wifi?" She asked, she was looking around the room, her eyes settling for the longest on his videogame console, which Lemy had got so much mileage out of.

"Yeah."

"What's the password?"

"Should be on the side of the router there." Lincoln pointed to it sitting beside his computer screen.

"What does it say?" She didn't look up. Lincoln forced himself out of his chair to look and read it out for her, which she typed in and logged on without so much as a thank you.

"So…" Lincoln sat back down in his chair. Loan didn't look up from her phone. "I guess this must be pretty upsetting for you."

"It's fine."

"Did your mom tell you anything about me?" He asked.

"No."

"Oh." Lincoln said.

Just then, the two of them heard a door open down the hall and another door close. He was sure that had been Lyra going into the bathroom.

"That was your cousin." Lincoln explained to Loan, and for the first time in the conversation she looked up at him for more than two seconds. "Lyra and Lemy are staying here too." She looked at him for only a few extra seconds, her expression unchanging and betraying nothing.

"Okay." She acknowledged and her eyes went right back to the screen. Bobby was right- she really was the quiet type. Lucy had said the same thing about Lupa, but a gap was clear. Lincoln heard flushing and a door opening and quickly got up to catch his actual daughter before she went back into the bedroom. They both ended up nearly running into each other and made the other jump; Lyra had already been coming down the hallway to investigate the voices she'd heard.

"Good morning." Lincoln got the first word out. "Come here for a second." He beckoned her into the living room. She followed him and her eyes went immediately to the couch and widened when she saw who was there. "She's going to be staying just a few days." Lincoln explained as he sat back down.

"Hey." Loan made a short wave at her cousin before the hand went right back to the phone screen.

"Hello." Lyra got over her initial shock. "Did something happen?" She asked.

"The house got raided last night." To Lincoln's surprise, Loan looked up and started talking without any reservation. "Police think my mom might've been doing something illegal at her job. So she decided to send me away for a few days while that happens." She sounded unconcerned.

"Are your parents okay?" Lyra asked.

"They're fine."

"That's good." She nodded. "I can put your stuff in the bedroom if you want?" She offered. Lincoln thought that was a good time to step in and explain the sleeping arrangements.

"I decided Loan can have the couch while she's staying here." He spoke up, grabbing both girls' attention. "I'll take the sleeping bag for a while."

"Thanks." His niece took that as an invitation to lay down, head resting on the arm rest. She got comfortable and even kicked her shoes off. At least Lincoln's worry of her hating the arrangement were voided.

"I guess I'll go make some breakfast." Lincoln said hopefully. "There anything you like?" He asked Loan. She shrugged.

"Anything's fine."

"Err…alright." Lincoln stood up. "I'll see what we have."

"I'll help." Lyra volunteered.

10 minutes later

Lyra's mother said life was full of surprises, although the only surprises Lyra ever saw were what her mom managed to get up too. This visit had had a lot of surprises in it though, and now it had one more.

Loan was the cousin Lemy and her saw the most out of all of them, but their interactions were limited; she was a solitary person, preferring games and the internet over interactions with other people besides her father. Lyra talked to her about various subjects sometimes. Loan had tried to absorb Lemy into her gaming addiction to help her pull off some exploits. But unlike here he grew tired of games due to Loan's enthusiasm, same as the way Lacy turned him off sports. Consistent interaction wasn't normal.

But there was something underneath that reclusive and unmaintained surface. The blond attended a prestigious private academy her mother paid for, one that had certain minimum requirements. There was some intelligence behind that unhygienic façade. The teen had confided to Lyra before about how she disliked her own mother and Lyra was sure part of her behavior was just to spite her. Loan was a smart person, just a little petty and uninspired.

Lyra and her uncle were still getting items and ingredients from the cupboards when Loan's voice sounded from the living room, annoyed and accusatory. "Stop staring up my skirt you little pervert." Lyra dropped what she was holding and hurried out. From the way Loan was laying on the couch, anyone who came out of the hallway and looked to the left would have that line of sight. That just so happened to be Lemy, who must've stopped to gawk at their new arrival. He was red in the face and already stepping away. Loan wasn't making any effort to cross her legs or otherwise hide.

Lyra grabbed her brother's shoulders and steered him towards the kitchen. "Is everything okay?" Their uncle asked. He'd heard Loan too.

"Everything's fine." Lyra assured, pushing Lemy to sit in a chair. He looked somewhere between angry and embarrassed, and glowered when Lincoln looked at him.

There were things Lyra didn't like about her cousin. Part of the reason she stayed indoors a lot was social anxiety, yes, but laziness was a big part of it too. Aside from that, she could have a crude mind (probably the internet's fault) and her lack of hygiene was linked to a general disregard for her own person and decency.

"Why is she here?" Lemy asked, keeping his voice low.

"She's going to be staying a few days." Lincoln explained while he and Lyra made breakfast- muffins.

"Why?" He asked.

"Her family is having court troubles." Lyra explained. As much as she didn't like it, Lemy understood what that meant.

"Sorry I couldn't warn you guys. It was kind of sudden." Their uncle apologized.

"It's fine." Lyra assured. If it was just last night, they'd come to him at most only a few hours ago for help and he'd immediately agreed. It was the type of behavior she expected. "I'm glad to see her." Lyra remembered something from one of the conversations they'd had earlier during the visit. "This is the first time you've seen her in a long time, isn't it?"

"Yep." Lincoln confirmed, nodding. "Last time I saw her, she was just a blanket bundle in her mom's arms. You both were back then." He smiled. Lyra smiled a little too before returning to a serious subject.

"About Aunt Lori and Uncle Bobby, are they really okay?" She asked. She'd felt Loan had been a little too casual about giving that news.

"I'm pretty sure." Lincoln said. "I only spoke to Bobby, but he made it sound like it was all just a big misunderstanding. It was someone else at the company Lori works for so they're investigating everyone."

"Mhm." Lyra acknowledged. That sounded overzealous.

"How long is she staying here?" Lemy butt in to the conversation again. Lyra glanced at him _. Don't get an attitude_. He shrunk under it. Things had gotten off to a bad start, but that wasn't a reason.

"Her parents should come pick her up in a few days." Lincoln assured his nephew. The batter had been poured by that point and the trays put in the oven.

"Uh, Lyra." Her uncle implored quietly, clearly in the interest of secrecy, so she leaned in curiously. "Does Loan always look like that?" He asked. Always look like that? She realized he must've been referring to how unkempt she looked.

"She does." Lyra told him. "I know she looks…off." That was the term the least offensive to Loan and her parents she could use in her sentence. "But there's nothing wrong with her. She's just like that."

"'Figuring things out for herself'." Lincoln nodded, and Lyra had to remember those were her own words she'd used to describe her cousin that time they'd gone to the arcade with Lacy. She wondered if her uncle understood now that she'd meant Loan just hadn't put her life and energy into something yet. "She has time." He dismissed her unhealthy behavior. He then looked at the timer at the stove.

"I need to go make a phone call. Can you get those if I'm not back up here?" He asked. Lyra nodded. "Thanks." He left the apartment. Lyra watched him go, turned to see Lemy was content at the kitchen table, and decided to go check on her cousin.

"So your mom drops you here now?" Loan asked as Lyra sat down in her uncle's chair.

"This is the first time." Lyra answered, staring hard. Something stuck out to her- her cousin's twitch wasn't there anymore.

"So…he's a good guy?" She asked, tilting her head back to look. Lyra assumed she meant their uncle.

"He's very kind and considerate. Why?" She asked.

"Just seemed a little creepy to me at first." Loan shrugged and looked back at her screen. "I felt like he was staring me up." Lyra frowned deeply.

"He's just a very kind man." Lyra repeated, disturbed at the implication. "He helps his sisters with their kids and I think he's just fond of it."

"Yeah, my mom mentioned her sisters had a lot of bastard children." Loan said unapologetically, and Lyra grimaced. She'd mentioned to her cousin before that Lemy and her had stayed with other aunts, and she hadn't made a disparaging comment then. Not only that, but she'd insulted Lyra's mother in the same breath. "But he doesn't have a girlfriend or any kids of his own?" She went on. "Is he gay?" Now Lyra blushed deeply, her earlier outrage quashed. She really hoped Lemy hadn't overheard any of that.

"I don't pry into his personal life." She said with a slight huff. "He's a nice and respectable man, that much I know."

"If you say so." Loan dropped the conversation entirely. Slightly riled up but not willing to admonish her cousin, Lyra decided to go wait in the kitchen with her brother.

"What's bastard children?" Lemy asked when she sat down, and she winced.

"Please forget you ever heard that word." Lyra asked of him. Another thing her cousin could do that get on her nerves was not mind her mouth in front of children. Lemy did drop it, and the two sat there watching the timer count down on the oven. Lincoln came back a few minutes before it was done and waited with them.

"Hey Loan, there are muffins out here!" Their uncle called out as they pulled them out of the oven.

"Bring me some!" Was the response. And Lyra watched with a frown as her uncle did just that before going to eat at his desk. Her and Lemy decided to eat in the kitchen. But after that though, Lemy had the choice of either going out into the living room to play his video games or doing something else all day. The urge to play video games eventually won out, but he chose to sit on the floor rather than ask Loan to stop hogging the couch.

Lyra decided to sit beside him and watch him play, although her true interest was really in making sure there weren't anymore conflicts between her cousin and her brother. Her presence wasn't need though; Loan had produced a pair of headphones for her phone and for all intents and purposes shut them out. And a little after that she'd fallen into a deep sleep right after that on the couch, still holding onto her phone.

"That's normal too." Lyra told her uncle when he finally noticed. Another thing Lyra had noticed about her cousin: except for during the school year, she usually slept for the day. It maintained the peace in its own way.

That afternoon

Loan didn't wake up until 1 P.M, hours later. Sleep mercilessly dropped her back into the land of the awake and she groaned. Wait- she could hear a lot of noise. That wasn't normal. Her eyes shot open, and the first thing she noticed was someone sitting on the floor in front of her with their back to her.

She shot to her feet with surprising speed, looking wildly around and realizing that she was not in her bedroom, or even her house. The person on the floor spun around at the movement, and after a moment she recognized that it was Lemy. And that was all Loan needed to remember that she wasn't at home- she was at her uncle's.

Oh yeah. She fell back down onto the couch with a grumble and rubbed her eyes. "You okay?" A voice asked. Her uncle. He'd spun around in his desk chair to look at her with concern.

"Fine." Loan mumbled, tired. "Where's the bathroom?" She asked.

"Down the hall there." He pointed. "The door on the left." Loan got up and trudged down the hallway, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The bathroom was small and cramped, smaller than her closet, even. Heck, her bathroom back at home was nearly as big as the room she'd woken up in. The second floor of her house was bigger than this whole apartment.

It was probably a mess now. The house, not her room- that was always messy. Cops had been turning it upside down looking for stuff. She'd been awake when it happened, sitting up in bed with a controller in her hands when she heard shouting and someone pounding up the stairs. If her parents hadn't been woken up by then, her screaming had probably done it.

The whole thing was a blurred hazy panic in her mind now. They'd all been made to sit in the living room for a while, then her mother had ordered her to pack some clothes and go sit in their family's SUV. And about 20 minutes after that her dad came out and they were on the road while he explained what had happened and that they (meaning mom decided and he went with it) had decided it was better she was out of town for a while with her mom's family.

The first option had been her grandparents. Loan had talked to them over the phone or one of those online chat rooms every now and then and her mom always made her stand for a Christmas photo every year. Mom had taken her to visit them twice. It was an old people's house, looked like it and smelled like it, although she had an aunt just a little older than her who still lived there.

But they were out of town, so her mother had had to call around and try find someone else willing to put her up. Unsurprisingly, mom didn't have any friends and ended up having to fall back on her family. She didn't talk about them, at all. She just had a picture that Loan had only ever seen face down on her desk. Only her brother, Loan's uncle and someone her dad seemed fond of, had agreed to take her, it seemed.

Yeah, send your teenage daughter to stay with a man she didn't know. Another bad decision in a large chain of them. Well, at least he was the lame kind of relative instead of the creepy kind, just from what Loan had seen.

It was a break from her mother, at least. Hell, a creepy relative would've been better than her mother on some days.

After she was done she walked back into the living room. Lemy was still sitting on the floor playing video games, something last generation. Lyra was there too, having apparently settled there while Loan had been in the bathroom. Loan sat down on the couch behind both of them.

Loan wasn't short on family at all, especially on her father's side. He had a huge family, and by extension Loan had a lot of cousins and 2nd cousins. But big family get togethers weren't really her thing; she didn't like the noise. Besides, when it came to her father and his side of the family, she didn't exactly 'fit in'.

Lyra, Lemy, and their mom were the only side of her mom's family Loan ever saw. Maybe her mom had her reasons for being a bitch; Loan would hate growing up with a Rockstar. Lemy was always a little brat first thing when he came over. Lyra was okay; Loan went back and forth from thinking she was okay to hating her depending on if her mom made any snide comments when she was tipsy, calling her niece 'a respectable woman' compared to Loan.

Bitch.

But Lyra seemed to think Loan's mom was full of it too. Or at least she never spoke back when Loan complained about her mom, unlike if Loan spoke to literally anyone else. Besides, it was nice to be around a girl who wasn't so full of herself like the ones at the academy ("that's called self-worth, darling, something you should have more of", according to the wise words of Lori Loud).

There were worse people Loan could be stuck spending time with.

She picked up her cellphone from the spot it had gotten wedged under her when she fell asleep. The battery fortunately still had some juice in it. She scrolled to the games screen where dozens of icons showed up next to a scroll bar that was ridiculously tiny. Mobile gaming was a big part of Loan's daily life. It was ridiculous how many and what kind of games you could fit on it. Plus, it had the benefit that her mom would never take her phone away from her- 'safety concerns', daddy always begged his wife- so she'd never be without no matter what trouble she got into. She was really into those city management games: you build up a city and troops and attack other players. She had 14 on her phone in total. It was all she had at the moment anyway. She opened one of them to check its status.

"You're a night owl, huh?" Her uncle asked, turning in his chair towards her.

"Huh?" Loan hadn't heard him.

"You like to sleep during the day."

"I guess." She finished that game and went to check on the next.

"You know-" He started, and Loan popped in her earphones and started to act like she couldn't hear him. "Oh." Her uncle said awkwardly. He stopped talking and turned back to his desk.

Peace at last. And she gamed for a few minutes uninterrupted by anyone.

There was sudden hammering on the front door, and Loan jumped, fumbling her phone. Lemy didn't react and Lyra looked up from her book. A second later, their uncle came out of the kitchen, confusion on his face. Loan was picking up her phone and checking the screen when he opened it.

"Hel-ah ah…" Lincoln's words died with a croak. Then another voice spoke.

"Long time no see, lame-o." Loan's head jerked. She knew that voice!

"Aunt Ronnie?" She looked up and saw her aunt- her dad's sister- standing in the doorway with a back pack and carrying two duffle bags.

"Hey, princess." The slim and pretty Latina let her come in for a hug. 'Princess' was a nickname. She'd used to call Loan 'the spoiled princess' for the longest time, but her brother had asked her not to, so she'd shortened it to just that. In spite of how that sounded, the two really got along really well. A mix of mutual dislike when it came to Loan's mother, and a blunt sort of attitude that could make her father sway on his feet. "Lincoln here treating you right?" She asked when the hug broke, motioning to Loan's uncle.

The man looked like he'd seen a ghost. He was rooted in place, his mouth agape. Loan's aunt rolled her eyes and stepped into the apartment. "You forget how to speak these last ten years?"

"Come in." He murmured a few seconds after they already had. Aunt Ronnie set the duffle bags on the couch and shrugged off the backpack to hand it to Loan.

"Bobby said you'd go crazy without these, so I brought them over." Loan unzipped the backpack and looked inside to see her laptop. Yes! She knelt and unzipped the duffle bags and found some more clothes, but also her vast collection of handheld gaming systems and the hundreds of games she had for them. Maybe this wouldn't be a total bore fest after all. But while she was looking, her aunt kept talking to her uncle. "You don't look happy to see me again." She sounded kind of irritated.

"Wait," Loan stood up. "Do you two know each other?" She asked, pointing between the two of them.

"Yeah." Aunt Ronnie answered. "We use to be-"

"Friends." Lincoln spoke up.

"Yeah, friends." Ronnie seemed glad that he was finally speaking.

"Just friends." Lincoln clarified further.

"Yeah…" Loan's aunt's voice lost some of the it's usual roughness, and instead of staring at each other, her and Lincoln awkwardly broke eye contact. Loan's brow furrowed. Were they interested in each other? She shuddered. She already had the misfortune of watching her parents act all gooey. God, she even overheard them having sex some nights. She really didn't want to imagine anything like that with her aunt and uncle…who were brother and sister in law. Alright, these thoughts were getting weird.

"Sorry." Lincoln apologized, starting to move again. "You just surprised me. It's great to see you again, Ronnie Ann. You look…well." Was he checking out her body? Loan swore he was checking out her aunt's body.

"And you look the same." She smirked and gave him a light tap on the shoulder. "Who are these two?" She turned to Lyra and Lemy, who'd so far just watched all the exchanges without saying anything.

"Oh, this is my niece and nephew. I'm watching them for a little while." He explained.

"Hello." Lyra said politely once she was the focus. Ronnie looked between both of them.

"They're your sister's who wanted to be a Rockstar, right?" She guessed. "Ehhh…Luna!" She snapped her fingers.

"That's right." Lincoln answered. "And she is a Rockstar."

"Good for her." Ronnie Ann looked around the small apartment. "Nice place you got here."

"It's home." He answered simply, watching her sit down in his chair. Loan decided their conversation wasn't interesting and kept looking in the bag. Looks like everything was there. Had her dad put this together? He even remembered the power cords, and he usually forgot those.

"So I guess your dream job in California didn't work out?" Ronnie Ann guessed.

"Huh?" Lincoln said dumbly.

"Lori said you went out there and tried to get into animation. Since you're still here, I guess it didn't happen."

"Ah…yeah…" Lincoln admitted. "I uh…failed the classes. Decided to come back home and get into comics."

"Would've been nice if you'd let me know about either of those." Loan looked up at her aunt's words. From the sound of it, the two old friends hadn't parted on good times. She was fast enough to see Lincoln flinch.

"Both decisions were pretty sudden." He defended weakly, scratching the back of his head.

"So I guessed." Ronnie Ann said flatly then turned to Loan. "That's everything, right?"

"Yes, Aunt Ronnie. Thank you." She was already powering up one of the portable systems. The Latina stood up from the chair and stretched.

"So Lincoln," she said, and Loan expected her to humiliate him further. "Why don't we go hang out in town for a while?" Loan and Lyra's eyes both shot up to the adults.

"Hang out?" Lincoln repeated.

"Yes, hang out." Ronnie Ann said again, rolling her eyes. "I just drove here for three hours, I might as well check the place out. And we got some catching up to do."

"Oh…yeah. I guess we do." He agreed, getting red in the face. "But uh…I was actually about to make lunch. You can join us." He offered. "Is mac' n cheese fine?"

"If it's anything like what your dad used to make, sure."

"I'm not THAT good." Lincoln shook his head. "But I can manage." He headed into the kitchen. Ronnie Ann smirked before walking over to the couch and sitting down beside her niece. She leaned her head back and laughed to herself.

"What's so funny?" Loan asked without pausing the JRPG she'd started up.

"He's still an awkward idiot like all those years ago." She said, just a little fondly even.

"I heard that!" Lincoln's voice called from the kitchen.

"Don't get your panties in a twist, Lincoln." Ronnie Ann started. "You're still cool in your own way." Loan's eyes darted over to check her aunt's expression. Oh God, she was definitely into him.

"Gee, thanks." He said sarcastically. "You haven't changed at all either."

"You know it." Loan's aunt turned to her. "So, you gotten settled in?"

"He gave me the couch." Loan explained.

"The couch? Is that really the best you could do?" Ronnie Ann called into the kitchen.

"Lyra and Lemy are already using the bedroom. I'm going to be sleeping on the kitchen floor!" He said dramatically. Ronnie Ann snorted in an amusement.

"Knowing you, it won't be a problem." She nudged her niece. "You've slept in worse places."

"Aunt Ronnie, stop!" Loan whined. She hated it when her aunt or mom brought this up.

"We found her sleeping on the kitchen table at her house once." Lemy spoke up from the floor. His sister tried to shush him.

"Shut up you little brat." Loan sneered. She took a lot of naps and sometimes in weird places. Why did they want to make fun of her for it?

"I've found her sleeping in her own closet." Her aunt played right along with the boy and then laughed when Loan complained that she was embarrassing her. She'd just been trying to avoid chores and got comfy, that was all! "Calm down, Princess." After having a laugh, her aunt tried to make amends. "Your mom's parents are getting back in 2 days. Lincoln will drop you off at their place and you'll have a room to hide in all day."

CRASH.

A loud, metallic, and echoing noise rang out from the kitchen. Loan yelped and dropped her game, Lyra nearly dropped her book, Lemy got distracted long enough for his character on the screen to die, and Ronnie Ann jumped too.

"What the hell was that?" The black-haired woman stood up.

"Uncle Lincoln?" Lyra called anxiously, approaching the kitchen. Ronnie Ann went with her, and Loan and Lemy got up to follow. Lincoln was slumped against the back wall of the kitchen, an empty pan near his feet. Steam was rising from the floor where boiling water had landed just recently. His face was pale and he was shaking from the close shave he'd just had. "Are you okay?" Lyra asked, then Ronnie Ann pushed past her.

"Can't even cook without nearly killing yourself." She put her arms under his shoulders and pulled him up while Lyra quickly went to get something to clean up the mess. "Did any of that get on you?" She asked, looking him over for any signs of injury.

"N-no." He stuttered before moving to collapse in one of the chairs at the table, and he barely made that journey. "My hand slipped."

"You're lucky you didn't cook yourself." She gave his head a small shove and sighed. "Just sit there, I'll take care of it." She grabbed the pan off the floor.

"Thanks." He said in the same shocked tone. Lyra hurried past Loan with a towel in hand, and the blond teenager quickly left to avoid the possibility of being dragged into clean up duty. She got lucky and didn't have to do anything. Lunch was served an hour after that. Loan got hers and quickly went back to the couch before plugging her headphones back in. Her aunt and uncle started talking and swapping stories about what they'd been doing the past few years and again, Loan had no interest in hearing that.

They left soon after, and Loan made sure to give her aunt one last hug. But as soon as they were out the door, Loan stretched right back out on the couch. "Alone at last." She sighed, pleased. Lyra and Lemy glanced at her but said nothing. It was a double win as far as the blond was concerned.

That evening

It was around 7 in the evening that Lyra's phone buzzed and she got it out of her skirt pocket. It was a text from her uncle. "He says he'll be back late." He told the others. They were all sitting together on the couch; Loan had sat up after her legs got numb earlier that evening. "And that I can make dinner."

"They're getting a hotel room." Loan gagged, and Lyra blushed a little.

"So he'll get back in the morning?" Lemy asked.

"Yes." Lyra said quickly.

"Pfft." She narrowed her eyes at her cousin. But she didn't say anything, and Lemy was too engrossed in his game to pick up any implications.

The night turned out uneventful for the three of them and Lemy ended up being right; their uncle never got back before him and Lyra went to bed. And the next day Loan would mention she didn't see him come in till past 4 in the morning. But what made it weird was that Ronnie Ann had texted Loan at 10 PM saying she was heading back home.


	18. Chapter 18

Even though Lincoln had claimed it, Lyra was still surprised when she walked into the kitchen the next morning and found him sleeping on the floor. "He only got back a few hours ago." Loan told her. The girl had been up all night on her laptop.

"Mhm." Lyra acknowledged, trying not to think about the implications associated with that.

"Not sure why." Loan went on. "Aunt Ronnie went home 6 hours before he came back." She smirked to herself. "I think they had an argument." Lyra frowned and resolved to step lightly around the kitchen till he got up. "It's weird, don't you think? They're brother and sister-in-law."

"Not really." She shook her head. Try as she did not to, Lyra's mind did wander back to what Loan had said yesterday about him being single. She wondered why. Hopefully not because he decided to give up his own life to help his sisters.

"You know, I kind of like it here." Loan said, changing the subject yet again. She did that-steer conversations where ever she wanted. "It's quiet and I can totally relax for once. I don't have to listen to mom stomping around the house yelling into her phone all day." Lori did that, although Loan insisted it was constantly when Lyra had only ever witnessed it once or twice over a two week stay. "Everywhere else in my family is so noisy."

"He lets his other nieces stay over all the time." Lyra informed her.

"Yeah, no." Loan shot it down. "Don't know the guy. Don't want to know the guy. This is just a one-time thing."

"He's a nice man." Lyra defended.

"Look, if you guys like it, good for you." Loan looked over and tipped her head. "I can see why you'd like it, considering who your mom is. And if it's good for all my cousins, good for them. But me? I already have everything I want. I'm fine with my life." She turned back to her laptop.

Lyra's expression tightened at what she perceived as an insult, a perception that rested solely on the fact her mother had been mentioned. She was about to tell Loan off for it, but the blond wasn't done talking.

"Maybe you'll stop staring all the time now."

"Excuse me?" Lyra asked. "I don't understand what you're talking about." She could see Loan rolling her eyes.

"I've seen you staring at my dad. You never really hid it. Now that you have someone like that, good for you." She repeated. "You can stop staring now."

"I… _what?_ " Lyra's face flushed, confusion and embarrassment filling her mind. "You're talking nonsense." Stare? Lyra never stared; she just liked to observe things. And 'someone like that'? Their uncle? To who? Bobby? They were both nice men.

 _Or did she mean like a_ _dad_ _?_

And what was that? By the Bible, it was someone who showed compassion to their children, disciplined them, and brought them up in all the proper ways. By the example Loan's dad set, the first point was similar, but the rest went out of the window (but he was still a very good man). All Lyra had observed from her uncle was that first point, and maybe the third for Lemy. So they were similar…

"You're implying I'm jealous of you." Lyra realized. "I'm not."

"If you say so." Her cousin clearly didn't believe her. Lyra huffed and stood up.

"I'm going to go lay back down for a little while." Loan only nodded in response, and the older teen left without a word. She tried her best to put down her irritation as she went back to the bedroom.

Was Loan making fun of her for not having a father? Her whole home life? That new possibility made it harder to stamp out her anger. What did it matter? Lyra never had a father, she never would have one, and she was perfectly content with that. She'd gone 15 years of her life like that and she'd go the rest of her years like that without complaint.

Her uncle wanted to fill a role like that; he'd admitted it in the conversation they'd had after Lacy's first visit. She was grateful for his selflessness, but she had no intention of burdening him with it when he was already doing it for four people.

Lemy was still asleep. He'd already pulled the parts of the blanket his sister had given up over him. Lyra slowly eased her way to laying on her side in the space behind him and just watched. His chest rose and fell gracefully and peacefully.

Lyra still had her mom. However much that woman got on her nerves; however many mistakes she made; however many things Lyra wished she could've done better or done at all. That was still her mom. The woman who'd reared her as a single parent for so many years. The parent who'd helped her grow up smoothly. The mother who'd been nothing but accepting of all the things her ungrateful daughter had thrown back at her…

And Lemy had mom, and he had Lyra too. Both of them. They were equally important to him.

Lyra knew the truth deep down, what Loan didn't understand. The life she lived-the life all three of them lived on the road-was something she'd never change. All she curiosities she'd wondered about weren't things she'd throw everything away for no matter how much she wanted to know. Her mom, Lemy, and her, they'd all turn out just fine. Lyra was certain of it.

Her and Loan would never discuss such a matter again.

Midday

Lemy was playing video games and Lyra was looking at something on their uncle's computer when the man in question woke up and emerged just before noon from the kitchen, grumbling and stretching. "Good morning." He yawned at all of them.

"It's noon." Loan told him.

"Right, right." He nodded, hurrying on his way. He was at his desk five minutes later with two books underarm. Lemy thought they were the picture albums he'd shown him and Lyra when they first visited.

"So…what do you do for work?" Loan asked their uncle, surprising him with a question. He turned around to look at her even though she was still on her phone.

"Me? I draw. Comics mostly, although I do commissions for people."

"NSFW stuff?" Loan asked. Lemy had no idea what that meant. And when he looked at Lyra, she looked just as confused.

"Nothing like that." Lincoln mumbled, looking embarrassed.

"Hey, it's money from suckers." Loan shrugged. "They're just going to use it for weird stuff anyway."

"Yeah, well…" Lincoln trailed off. "You got any hobbies? Going to follow your mother into business?"

"Ugh, no. My daddy buys me anything I want."

"…Okay." Their uncle responded, losing his will to carry on the conversation. He was about to turn back to his work when Loan asked him something else.

"So how do you know Aunt Ronnie?"

"Well," He spun back around in his chair, head tipped back like he was daydreaming. "Ronnie Anne and me were in the same class in elementary. It just happened to be a coincidence our older siblings were dating. Anyway, she was my bully." Loan snorted in amusement. Lyra was listening in intently and even Lemy paused his game to hear, even though he wasn't sure why he was curious.

"She was." Lincoln insisted. "She'd pants me in the hall and pull all other types of pranks. I never tried to prank her back though."

"So how'd you guys become friends?" Loan asked.

"I kissed her." Their uncle revealed.

"Eww." Loan cringed, and Lemy did a little too.

"All my sisters found out I was being bullied." He explained it. "They were out for blood till I told them it was a girl. Then they insisted that it meant she liked me."

"That's a poor way to show it." Lyra cut in.

"It's just how some girls are." Lincoln didn't think it was a problem. "Anyway, they told me the best thing to do next time she bullied me was to kiss her. So I did…and she gave me a black eye." As he said it, he reached up to touch his face even though there was nothing there. Loan burst out laughing.

"Sounds like you deserved it."

"Well, she gave me a cold steak to help." He said fondly. "And then there was the time we made Lori and Bobby break up-"

"Mom and dad _broke up_?" Loan suddenly sat up, phone forgotten, and looked at her uncle incredulously.

"Yeah. It's a long story." Lincoln warned, but he clearly had Loan's full attention. "The thing is, we were 11," Lemy noticed his sister frown in the background. "and that's the age in school people tease you for getting crushes. So I might've insisted to a few of my friends that I didn't like Ronnie Anne without realizing she was listening. She got really upset and Bobby found out, so he broke up with Lori because he thought it was unfair to Ronnie Anne." Loan's mouth was wide open, but she was definitely entranced by the story. "Lori tried to kill me. I'm not even joking there. I had no idea Bobby was her older brother." Lincoln swore.

"Oh my God. I can't believe it. Mom has him wrapped around her finger so much."

"Well, this was when they'd only recently got together. Three-month anniversary. Or was it one month? I forget, but they hadn't been together long. But Lori was determined to fix it, and Bobby would only get back with her if I was nice to Ronnie Anne. So…" He got a smirk on his face and stopped to compose himself. "So, Lori's bright idea was to arrange a double date to prove to Bobby I would be nice. I don't want to say too much about what happened there."

"Come on!" Loan whined, looking disappointed. Lincoln shook his head.

"You can ask Ronnie Anne yourself if you want to know. Just make sure it isn't while she's in town or she might come over to wail on me." He shuddered. "But at the end of it we were kind of not-really-boyfriend-and-girlfriend-but-still-really-good-friends, so Bobby and Lori got back together. It was complicated." He said after that mouthful.

"That's so crazy." Loan shook her head. "My dad always said mom's side of the family was like that."

"Oh, we were." Their uncle said proudly. "But that's what made it so fun."

"I like solitary quiet myself." Loan returned to her previous position and to her phone. "I've got to ask her next time I see her."

"She'll probably deny it." Lincoln warned. "Ronnie Anne never did girly."

"That's what you think." Loan said smugly. With the conversation between those two over, Lyra stepped in.

"You guys stopped being friends?" Lyra asked.

"No, we never stopped." Lincoln shook his head. "Ronnie Anne moved away to live with her family in Chicago, so we were a little disconnected. It's hard to keep any kind of relationship up at a distance."

"Then you went to California to study art?" Lyra guessed, and Lemy decided to jump into the conversation.

"What part of California did you live in?" He asked. They were always moving with mom, but if they spent the most time anywhere, it was California. Their uncle scratched the side of his head.

"The school was somewhere around L.A."

"We usually stay at a beach hotel in Santa Monica." Lemy told him. "It's really cool there but kind of weird. A lot of people don't speak English, they don't have separate bathrooms for boys and girls, and mom never let us leave the hotel."

"The art schools were just one county over." Lyra didn't like that place as much as Lemy and mom did, but she knew it just as well. "It would've been only a few minutes away from where we were. What years were you there?"

"Uhhh… I don't remember." Their uncle said. "But it was a long time ago." He left it at that. Lyra was still frowning. Lincoln looked up, saw her frowning again, and quickly looked back to his work.

Weird.

Loan's phone started ringing with some stupid pop song, and Lemy was grateful when it shut off, only to become annoyed again when he heard his cousin speak. "Hi Daddy!" She said cheerfully. Lemy rolled his eyes and tried to focus on the audio from his game. She was doing _that_ again. Whenever Loan talked to her dad, she made this really high-pitched sappy voice that was like nails on a chalkboard.

He wasn't the only one who found it annoying. Lyra had turned back to the computer with a similar amount of focus. And their uncle had gone so far as lay his head sideways on the desk and press his arm against his other ear.

"Fine." Loan went on in that horrible voice. "Thanks for having Aunt Ronnie bring my stuff over." Another merciful silence. "Yeah, he's okay." Was she talking about their uncle? "Where?" She asked, her tone changing. Lemy kept ignoring her till she made a small squeal of excitement. Turning around, Lemy saw she'd pulled a small wad of money out of one of the smaller pouches on the bag. And then he had to endure listening to her saying 'thank you' repeatedly. Man, that was so annoying.

"Is your last name Loud or Santiago?" Lincoln asked when the torture was finally over.

"Santiago?" Loan responded, confused. "Why?"

"Nothing." Lincoln waved his hand. "We just always kind of guessed Lori would make Bobby take her last name."

"I wouldn't be surprised. It's like mom has complete control over him. If he tried to break up with her today, I think she'd end up in prison."

"Sounds like you're just as good at getting Bobby wrapped around your finger as Lori." Lincoln joked, with bad results.

"Do NOT compare me to that woman." Loan growled, and Lincoln recoiled.

"Sorry." He apologized quickly, holding his hands up. He waited, and when it seemed like she wasn't going to say anything else he spoke again. "You don't like your mother very much?" He asked.

"She's a bitch." Lemy snickered and Lyra flinched. "She's always trying to control my life and she's always finding something to complain about. Dad's a lot better at the whole parenting thing."

"Okay…wow…" Lincoln slumped back in his chair. Then he leaned forward. "She was worse when we were kids, believe me."

"I doubt it."

"At least you can go around her." Lincoln told her. "When we were kids, she was the oldest. If mom and dad gave her control, she had absolute control. And even when she didn't, she was on our case." Loan didn't seem to be interested still. "Lori was the only one who could drive for the longest time. She used to make us slave away doing her laundry or chores if we wanted a ride anywhere."

"I didn't do the dishes once, so mom stacked them in my bathtub and got mad when I didn't notice after three days." Loan said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"She had this old military jacket she wore whenever mom and dad left her in charge. Had a riding crop and everything." Lincoln shivered. "She was scary." Loan sat up again.

"She was yelling at me so hard once she farted right in the middle of it." Lemy had to laugh at that, and their uncle was trying his hardest not too. He managed to put it down.

"Yeah…" He had to stop again to keep from laughing. "Lori always did let her emotions take over." He said.

"I think she's literally bi-polar." Lemy had no idea what that meant. "Or maybe she hit menopause early." Lemy had no idea what that meant either, but he could see Lyra shifting in her seat like she was about to get up. "I don't know how dad stands her."

"They both love each other. They were so sappy and overdramatic back then that they'd make us gag."

"Oh, they still are." Loan assured him, sounding disgusted. "I hear them humping through the walls a lot of nights." Lyra's face scrunched up and she opened her mouth to say something, but their uncle spoke first and cut her off.

"You're a really blunt person." He observed.

"Yeah, and mom gets on my case over that too. She puts me in an elite academy with a bunch of high-class rich kids and thinks I'll be innocent? Please. You have no idea how hellish a place like that is. Half of them are in therapy, at least a few are inbred, and I'll bet a quarter of the girls have had abortions already." And just like that, Lemy's gaming session ended. Lyra had grabbed him up and pulled him out of the living room and to the bedroom in the span of a few seconds.

"Hey!" He protested after she let him go and closed the bedroom door.

"We're staying in here for a little while." She declared.

"I was playing a game!" Lemy retorted angrily.

"They're talking about adult stuff you shouldn't be hearing. Practice with your guitar for a little while." Lyra told him. "I'll be here with you." She sat down on the bed. Still frustrated, Lemy did get out his guitar and sat down on the opposite side. He made sure to strike a few bad notes first on the chance they'd annoy her. She didn't have a reaction, and Lemy cooled shortly.

"Loan was complaining a lot." He said, strumming a few notes.

"Yes." Lyra sighed. "She was."

"Is Aunt Lori bad?" He asked. That had left him confused.

"She's a good woman. Loan and her just don't get along." His sister answered. "She likes her dad more."

"So, she's like you?" He asked.

"Hmm?" Lyra didn't get what he meant.

"She loves her mom but gets annoyed by her." Lemy clarified.

"I'm sure." Lyra nodded. Did she look weirded out by the comparison?

"What's so bad about our mom?" He still just couldn't understand that. His sister sighed.

"I told you, Lemy. You're too young to understand." Ugh. That again.

"I don't have to hate mom when I get older too, do I?" He asked. He knew you learned new stuff as you got older. Was he going to learn something that made him not like her? What could do that?

"Don't say 'hate'." Lyra shook her head. "You should never hate her, no matter what." Lemy set his guitar down and moved to the other side of the bed, next to his sister. "And if you can go your whole life thinking she's amazing…that's fine too." She told him.

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked.

"Yes." She put an arm around his shoulder. "I mean it, Lemy. Never hate her. Always appreciate her."

"I will." He nodded. "Nothing can make me hate her."

"Nothing will ever make me hate her either." Lyra swore.

Living Room

Loan was having fun. She only ever got to vent like this with Aunt Ronnie. But unlike her aunt, her uncle could tell her as many tales. She'd found someone who believed just as she did what her mom was really like.

Stuff like sabotaging her sister's driving test. Loan's mom was always so full of herself, but now she knew she was just insecure. She was going to find a way to use this information, she just knew. Even funnier, her uncle had shown her some pictures of her mom when she was her age. A looker she definitely hadn't been. Loan had dodged a genetic bullet. She was reveling in these stories. But they came to an eventual end.

"…but we had some good times too." He started saying. "Lot of good times." He reminisced, then leaned forward. "You've had plenty of good times with her too, right?" Oh, here it came: the concerned authority figure. Loan rolled her eyes. At least he had an original approach.

"Look, I'll tell you the same thing I've told the school councilor and CPS the time they came around our house." Her uncle looked alarmed. That whole thing had been just a misunderstanding from a teacher overhearing her. "My mom and I get along fine most of the time. We sit down and play video games once a week." Her mom wasn't terrible at them, but she was waaaay below her daughter's level. "We just have different styles and don't like how the other does their thing. Mom says we should be able to vent about what bothers us instead of keeping it bottled up."

"And that works?" Lincoln asked.

"Yeah." Loan agreed. "Mom and me will yell at each other. I'll call her a bitch. She'll call me lazy. And then after we'll sit on the couch together with dad and watch a movie. We have a system about time and places for arguing." Meal times and family activities were off limits. In front of family was of limits. At work or school was off limits.

"That's uh…a good system." Her uncle started to nod. "Wish we could've had something like that. Would've come in useful a few times I can think of."

"It keeps the peace. Anyway, thanks for all the fun stories. I'll have to bring them up with mom and Aunt Ronnie." She picked up her headphones.

"One last thing!" Her uncle said with a hint of urgency. She granted him a few extra seconds. "Has your mom ever mentioned her time living with the rest of us?" He asked.

"Not really." She answered. The face down family picture came to mind.

"Well… there was a lot of hardship too." He told her. "Lori was a really great person back then, but it might've taken its toll on her. Just don't judge her too harshly, alright?" He implored. Loan looked for something in his eyes beyond earnestness and found nothing.

"Okay. I won't." She put her headphones in. So, something had happened then that made her mother overbearing and gave her a hair-trigger temper? Maybe there was a lot of backstory to that. But Loan honestly didn't care.

Two Days Later

Loan's time with them was at its end. She'd spent three days with them, some of it good and some of it bad, but not a regrettable experience. Part of Lyra was disappointed to see her go, and she could tell her cousin was the same way. But now she'd be spending time at her grandparents until all this trouble with the authorities blew over; her dad had called Lincoln last night to tell him Loan's grandparents were back in town and he could take her to them tomorrow.

And Lyra was going with them, at least for the drive.

Loan had insisted on it, unhesitant to explain she didn't want to be alone in a car with someone she barely knew even though they seemed to have gotten along over the last few days. Such an insinuation had hurt their uncle, and even Lyra found her approach inconsiderate. But Lincoln had agreed, obviously hiding his reaction to the accusation of his character. Lyra felt bad for him, she really did, but at the same time this situation presented an opportunity for her.

Her grandparents.

She hadn't been thinking about them specifically, but they'd been part of it. That disconnect in the family she'd wondered about. They were her family same as her aunts, family who'd held her when she was a baby. She didn't think she'd have a chance to see let alone speak to them. But here one was.

She'd debated on that for some time before deciding she wanted to actually do it. Her mom had promised her an explanation on everything, and that was only two weeks away. Not that she intended to bring the subject up directly, but it could be brought up. They wouldn't hate her, surely? Mom said it was a problem between them that had nothing to do with any of the grandchildren. She still remembered those pictures of them holding her.

She felt a little guilty about it though. It was obvious the night before and in the first half of the day leading up the car ride that Lincoln was very nervous. Lyra had assumed that he was on bad terms with them, but this was more like fear. He didn't want to do this, yet Lyra was looking forward to it.

"What are they like?" She asked her cousin. Loan had changed her outfit for the first time only that morning and tried to stuff everything back in her bags haphazardly.

"They're like the ones you see on tv." Loan answered. "We send each other Christmas cards every year. Mom sends them pictures of me every few months. I always get cards with money for my birthday. They always want to know how I'm doing."

"That sounds nice." Lyra commented, feeling envy in her gut.

"My dad's side of the family is a lot worse, believe me." That was all the information Loan could offer on their shared maternal grandparents.

"You girls ready to go?" Lincoln asked a short time later.

"Sure." Loan pulled herself up from the coach and actually picked up some of her own bags. Lincoln got the rest. Lemy took the spot on the couch Loan had finally left and Lyra sat down next to him.

"We'll be gone a while." She told him. Lincoln said they lived in the city, so they'd probably be on the highway for a while. She'd been ready to insist he come with them, since the only alternative option was leaving him here by himself for at least an hour. But her uncle had tried to insist to her it'd be fine, since he'd just be here in the living room the whole time. The fact that it was true and the fact Lemy had no real interest in seeing grandparents he didn't know convinced Lyra to let it be. "Behave, don't answer the door, and don't mess with anything."

"Yeah, yeah." He nodded. Lyra leaned over and hugged him, and he paused the game for a moment to let her.

"We'll be back." She let go and hurried down to catch up to her uncle and cousin. Loan was already in the front passenger seat and Lincoln was loading her stuff into the backseat directly behind her.

"I told Lemy to behave." She told him as he stood up and closed the door.

"Good. We won't be gone long though." He told them as they walked around to the other side. He climbed into the driver seat and Lyra into the backseat behind him. The car started, and they set off.

The atmosphere in the car was varied, to say the least. Loan was on her phone as always, without a care for her surroundings. Lincoln was tense, his fingers gripping the steering wheel more tightly than was necessary. And Lyra was stuck between a slightly excited curiosity and concern for her uncle.

"I hope you had fun." Lincoln said to Loan. There was a slight tremble in his voice.

"It was fine." Loan assured him.

"It was nice seeing you again after so long." He went on. "I'm kind of sad it's over."

"I'll tell mom to start sending you Christmas cards." There was nothing sincere in her tone, but for some reason the words still rang as truthful.

"I'd like that." He responded earnestly. His fingers tapped the wheel. "Listen, Loan? I have to ask you something serious." Lyra watched her cousin's fingers stop dancing across the surface of her phone for a few seconds before she finally looked up.

"While you're with your grandparents, could you please…not mention me?" He asked, sighing heavily. "I'm not on very good terms with them." Loan raised an eyebrow. In the backseat, Lyra listened closely.

"Why?" She asked. "What did you do?" Lyra wanted to know that herself.

"I can't say." He shook his head. "It's stuff between us. Just don't mention that you've seen me to them? Please?" Some desperation crept into his voice. Loan's curiosity shifted into suspicious, and there was a slight edge in her voice when she spoke again.

"It wasn't anything illegal, was it?"

"No." He answered, but it had come out a little too quickly and a little too uneven. Now there were two 15-year-old girls frowning at Lincoln in his car. The moment was interrupted by Loan's phone ringing. She answered it in an instant, turning her face towards the window.

"Hi mom." Lincoln looked away from the road to his niece when she said that. "Your brother is driving me to Grandma and Grandpa's." Lincoln turned back to the road, although he was obviously still listening. "It was fine. Lyra and Lemy were visiting, so it wasn't too bad." Loan glanced into the backseat as she said it. "Not really…" She answered something her mom said in confusion, glancing over at her uncle.

Despite how many negative things she'd had to say about her, Loan's tone talking to her mother was civil.

"Really?" Loan asked in surprise. "If you say so." She shrugged even though her mother couldn't possibly have seen the gesture. The conversation went on for half a minute longer but was only the blond affirming several things to her mother. "Okay. Yeah. Will do. Yeah, I love you too. Bye." She hung up her phone and turned to her uncle. "Mom just told me not to mention you to them." Their uncle exhaled in relief. "They must really hate you." He flinched but said nothing. Loan said nothing further and just accepted the situation as it was.

But Lyra couldn't suppress her curiosity at the two exchanges she'd just witnessed. There was so much she could've taken from that. By chance, she was distracted by something that passed by the window-a kid on a bike. She glanced out and realized something: rather then getting on the highway and heading into the big city, they were in the suburbs on the outskirt of Royal Woods, only about 15 minutes from the apartment. Why were they here?

The car stopped at a stop sign. A few moments passed, but they didn't move. No car was coming down the other road or even behind them. But still they sat. It wasn't till he felt two pairs of eyes burning into his skull that he finally made a turn. They crawled along at a slow 10 miles per hour or so.

"That's it right there." Loan pointed out. Lyra followed her finger to a two-story house.

"Yeah…that's it." Their uncle admitted. He almost muttered it under his breath. They pulled up to the curb and stopped. Lyra gazed out the window at it. It was a house that was getting on in age. The roof was blue tiled but old. A tree taller than the house took up most of the front yard, which was slightly overgrown. A cracked driveway led to a dirty garage to the right of the house. Were it not for the two cars in the drive way: a van that looked about two decades old and a dinged up two door truck, the house might have looked unoccupied.

"Thanks for the ride." Loan unbuckled herself.

"I'll help you carry your stuff inside." Lyra offered quickly, starting to unbuckle her seatbelt.

"No." Both her uncle and her cousin said it, the former firmly and the latter dismissively.

"Stay in the car, Lyra." He ordered. His voice was a way she'd never heard it in all their visit here-stern.

"Just pass me my stuff." Loan turned around and reached into the backseat to grab her backpack. Surprised but not resisting, Lyra helped shift the duffel bags to the front without a word.

"You have fun." There was no conviction in the words Lincoln said to his departing niece. "Tell your mom I said hi next time you see her."

"Uh huh." Loan was nicer to her cousin. "See you around, Lyra."

"Goodbye." Lyra responded half-heartedly.

Once Loan was only a few steps away from the car with her stuff, the car lurched forward so hard that Lyra got pushed back into her seat. Her uncle had hit the gas and peeled out of there and down the street fast enough for the tires to screech. They rounded a corner much too sharply and finally slowed down after they'd blown through two stop signs. In fact, her uncle saw fit to pull over the side of the moment and stop. He slumped forward over the wheel.

"That was where my grandparents lived?" Lyra interrupted the moment he was taking to compose himself. He raised his head and glanced back.

"Yeah, that was them." He confirmed. He couldn't keep eye contact with her and turned back to look out the windshield.

"I thought you said they moved to the city?" Lyra could've sworn that was what he'd said during their tour near the start of the visit.

"No, they still live here." He sighed heavily. "I lied." He admitted. "I'm sorry."

"You…lied." Lyra repeated, feeling a slight stir in her chest. Indignation.

"Sorry." He said again.

"You're okay." Lyra said it more quietly then she'd intended. It was still turning over in her head: she'd been lied to. Had she ever been lied to like that? There was a difference between lying and just not being told something. The only time her mom lied to her was about little things when she was young, about subjects she shouldn't have known yet. But this wasn't a little lie about where babies came from.

"I wanted to see them again." She let it out. Her uncle shook his head.

"That can't happen. I'm sorry. We don't get along anymore."

"That badly?" Lyra asked. Her uncle nodded.

"I can't tell you why, but I just want you to trust me. It's better like this." He insisted. He sat up and started driving again, taking them back towards the more urban part of Royal Woods. Lyra was silent for most of the return ride, nursing a sense of disappointment.

Her resolve almost broke and she even opened her mouth at one point, about to ask him for the truth then and there. What was that void? What had made it so intense that he was even cowering in fear about it. She almost did it, but in the end held it back.

Two weeks. She'd find out in two weeks.

It'd be a hard two weeks to bear.


	19. Chapter 19

After getting back from dropping Loan off, the first thing Lincoln had did was fall on the couch and pass out. That little journey that had only taken an hour had made him feel like he'd gone three days without sleep. It was late in the evening by the time he woke up. There was left over food in the kitchen, so he figured Lyra must've made dinner at some point. Lemy and her were already asleep, earlier than usual too.

She'd been silent on the car ride back after their conversation, but he'd seen her glancing at him in the rear-view mirror. Was she upset at him? He really hoped not. He hadn't expected her to be upset over it; he didn't think she missed her grandparents. He'd honestly hoped she'd ignored them like she did her father.

Then again, she could remember her grandparents. She didn't remember her father. Might've even been his fault, since he showed her those pictures. And now everything unraveled because Loan insisted Lyra come with them.

But that was no one's fault. He should count himself as goddamn lucky to have had a chance like that, even if he might never again. Even if Loan was really only his niece. Maybe, just maybe, it could lead to him getting back in contact with Lori. He could hope.

Even though he was still emotionally drained, he forced himself to stay up. He should get some work done. It'd be the school year again soon and the girls would need a lot of stuff. This year, he hoped he could pay for all of it. So, after a quick meal of leftovers, he put himself at his desk, turning on only a lamp to work with.

It was past nine. Was that too late to call Lucy? They'd been talking about having Lupa visit, plans he had to cut short when Loan unexpectedly dropped in on him. Eh, he'd hold off. Lucy might pick up how tired he was and ask questions. Tomorrow then.

He'd picked up an ability to snap himself into a work focus. No matter what was on his mind, he could always make only the art in front of him matter for long enough to get it done. And get work done, he did. A few sketches for now he'd touch up later. Since he had the apartment to himself, he even worked on a few NSFW commissions.

Yes, he did those. The money was too good to ignore. Taking Lacy, Lyra, and Lemy to Gus' had been paid with by those kinds of commissions. You had to do what you had to do. He worked for a few hours.

Even if this was the most urban part of Royal Woods, it was still silent in the middle of the night. It made concentrating easier. But it also made it easier to pick up any other noises. Lincoln stopped when he heard someone in the apartment hallway outside. Must have been someone coming home late. He didn't think much of it.

But he _did_ think about it when the footsteps stopped at their loudest, and therefore closest, position. Feeling unease creep into his stomach, Lincoln glanced over his shoulder and jumped when he saw a shadow underneath his door. Someone was standing there.

Lincoln's heart hammered in his chest. Someone who had the wrong apartment? A burglar? Someone looking for him? Should he call the police? Should he go lock himself in with Lyra and Lemy? Whoever they were, they were still just standing there. Breathing quickly, Lincoln quietly crept up to the door and peeked outside through the door viewer.

It was a woman, tall, blond, and wearing glasses and an expensive looking jacket, standing in front of his door, hand rummaging through a large purse she was carrying. Something about her was familiar… Lincoln felt like his heart stopped.

"Lori?" He whispered under his breath and quickly pulled the door open. The movement frightened whoever it was and while they couldn't find what they were looking for, they did quickly find a gun that was in the purse. Lincoln froze, eyes wide. After a tense few seconds, the woman lowered it.

" _Lincoln_?" She asked. Her voice was nearly the same after all these years.

"…Lori?" Was it her? Was she really here? Was he really seeing his oldest sister for the first time in years and it wasn't a dream? "What are you doing here?" He asked while she put the gun back.

"I didn't expect you to be awake." She didn't look at him. "I just came to slip a letter under your door." She pulled an envelope out from the purse.

"I was up working," Lincoln said, thinking quickly. "Uh, you can come in." He offered, stepping back and holding the door open. Lori seemed to consider the offer before accepting. She flipped the light switch on as she did, looking around the small apartment. "Since when do you have a gun?" He asked.

"Since I took an executive defense course." She still wasn't looking at him.

"So…what was in the letter?" He asked. "You can just tell me now."

"What? Oh." She looked at the envelope still in her hand. "I just wanted to say thanks for looking after Loan." And she intended to do that through a letter? Not calling him?

"Oh, it's fine. I didn't mind at all." He chose his next words carefully. "You and Bobby have a very nice daughter." That was the first time she looked directly at him. He couldn't see anything in her eyes and it made him uncomfortable. "We all had fun."

"Don't lie to me Lincoln. I bet she never left your couch except to use the bathroom." He was caught.

"Not completely." He muttered, embarrassed. "She's a smart girl."

"Yeah, but she's lazy." Even though he should've been thinking only about Lori being here, for some reason his thoughts drifted to the fact he was a conduit for mother and daughter to complain about the other. "I'm still waiting for the day she gets off her ass."

Lincoln felt like saying some to defend Loan, but wondered if it'd make Lori angry if he did.

"Do you want me to take your jacket?" He asked. It was an absurd change of topic.

"No." Lori shook her head and tore up the envelope before dropping the two halves back in her purse. "I'm not staying. In fact, I think I'll go home now. I just wanted to say thanks." She moved around him and made a quick stride for the door.

"Lori, wait!" Lincoln held up a hand to stop her. Goddamnit, this was the first time he'd seen her in years. He had to say what he wanted to. He just had to. "Can I say just one thing? Please!" She stopped with her hand on the doorknob and looked back at him, impatience on her face. He had his chance.

Even though he had it, he struggled to actually take it. He'd run these words in his head hundreds, maybe even thousands, of times. But saying them took a completely different strength. He had to swallow hard twice.

"I'm sorry." He choked out. "About what happened at home. It was wrong, and I should've…apologized to you then. It never should've happened and…I wish I could take it back."

The truth was, Lori had never been part of the arrangement he'd had with the rest of his older sisters. She'd been just the opposite, actually.

He remembered that evening she'd found out. Leni was already a few months along at that point. Mom and Dad were out, Lori was in charge, and everyone but him, Luna, and Leni were downstairs. Lori had come upstairs to find them and found them doing things they shouldn't have been doing.

The first thing she'd done had been to pick up Lincoln and run him to her room before grabbing a golf club and going back out to confront her younger sisters. He still had no idea what she'd intended to do that night. Kill them? Hand them over to the cops? Whatever it was, she clearly thought those two were in the wrong.

What ended up happening was Lincoln running back out and the three of them trying to defend what they were doing to Lori. Trying to make her understand what they were doing was entirely willingly and alright. But she wasn't convinced. Lori stayed adamant in protecting her brother and trying to keep him behind her the entire time.

The best thing that had happened that night was that no one came upstairs to use the bathroom during that fight.

Somehow, things didn't fall apart that night. For whatever reason, when Mom and Dad came back after the fight had been dragging on for half an hour, Lori did not immediately run to them, allowing the three of them to make themselves look as innocent as possible.

But Lori stayed on their case for weeks after that, driven by a new belief that all three of them were just very confused and needed their eyes opened. She'd confronted all of them alone to reason with them, trying to get them to recant even when they stonewalled her. She did everything she could to keep them separated without actually getting any of them into trouble.

It was clear now she'd only been trying to protect them from bad decisions.

Something about Liena being born and Luna getting pregnant broke her. Seeing how happy he was with Leni and how unperturbed all of them were about the whole thing. She stopped trying to reason with them. They'd broken her.

It happened only once. One time. She never said why. Maybe she was trying to put herself in their shoes and understand. If that was it, she failed. One time. Lincoln regretted letting it happen. He'd kind of been hoping it'd spark some sort of understanding, even if he'd already felt guilty at the time.

Just another dumb belief. They'd been full of them at the time.

That one time finally burned the bridge. She stopped speaking to them all together after that, and Luna responded in kind, while Leni was totally occupied with Liena. Lincoln wanted to say something, but something had broken in him too. He had no idea what words could convey the regret he had and what he really wanted. While Luan came into the fold while Lori was still at the house, she never outright acknowledged it or acted surprised when Luan started to avoid her too. She figured them all lost causes not worth the breath.

He'd gotten rid of his older sister, one that deeply cared for him, just to maintain a closer sibling relationship with his other sisters. He'd never wanted a tradeoff like that.

Maybe sorry wasn't going to be enough. But he had to say it. And now he finally had.

Lincoln looked pleadingly at Lori for a response. She looked back towards the front door, sighed, and took her hand off the knob. She stood there for a few seconds before finally turning around, looking completely unphased.

"It's fine, Lincoln." She shrugged. "It was in the past. Nothing bad happened from it."

Nothing bad. He wished he could believe that as firmly as she did. She'd been on birth control and was pretty active with Bobby. That she got pregnant around the same time must've been just a fluke. It was only one time, so it couldn't have been. One time hadn't been enough for any of the others. The timing was just pure, agonizing coincidence, one he hadn't been able to dismiss in his mind.

"You guys have your life and are happy with it. I have mine and I'm happy with it. No one's meddling in mine, and I shouldn't have meddled in yours."

"None of us wanted to hurt you." Lincoln insisted, voice heavy. "We didn't want to drive you off. I-I really missed you." Something new appeared in Lori's expression: pity. To Lincoln's amazement, she stepped forward with her arms open.

"Come here, Lincoln." She pulled him into a hug, and he immediately returned it with all his strength like he was afraid it'd turn out to be a dream if he didn't. There were a lot of things you never, ever grew out of no matter how old you got. Seeking comfort in his older sisters was something Lincoln would never grow out of.

He didn't want to let go, but the hug ended. And when it did, Lori shrugged off her jacket and handed it to him.

"Come on, little bro. Let's talk."

The two adults moved to the kitchen table with drinks, something much more relaxing. It was just after one in the morning by then, but Lori had assured her brother she didn't need to be anywhere for a few days. The first minute was quiet as each drank.

"So, I realized you covered for me about where I was to Ronnie Anne. Thanks." Lincoln wanted to start on something different.

"I didn't do it for you." The harshness in Lori's voice surprised him, considering the tender moment they'd just had. "I only did that for Ronnie Anne. She liked you, Lincoln." He lowered his head in shame. "Where _did_ you go, anyway?" She asked him.

"You don't know?" Lincoln looked back up. "Did Luna ever tell you?" She'd given Lori his number, so he'd assumed they talked about him at some point. But his eldest sister shook her head.

"No. Mom and Dad didn't either." Lincoln winced.

"What…did they say about me?"

"They only said you left." She told him. "They called me for weeks to ask if I'd seen you. They've never said _why_ you left. But I went to visit and found out about Lucy, and I had an idea." Lincoln couldn't stare down her accusing gaze, and bowed his head. "It was you, wasn't it?" She demanded an answer.

"Yes…" Lincoln breathed under his breath.

SLAP

Lori's slap knocked his head right back up and him nearly out of his chair. He had to grab onto the table to keep from tumbling over. His head spun and his face burned. "You're disgusting." Lori sneered.

"Yeah, I know I am." Lincoln accepted the beratement, but that wasn't enough for Lori.

"I never thought you were a bad person Lincoln, just confused. But that changed my mind." Lincoln felt emotion rising in his chest. "The others were older than you, but Lucy-"

"YOU WERE RIGHT, OKAY?!" He jumped up and slammed his palms on the table, startling his sister. His emotion ebbed, he collapsed back in his chair. "You were right." He repeated in a quieter tone. "We were idiots. Our justification for it was wrong. We did end up messing up our lives, just like you said." He sighed. "Maybe you're right about all of us being monsters too. I should've listened to you. We all should've listened to you." He let his head fall onto the table, drained by the release of years of self-doubts and revelations. Things he'd never had the bravery to admit to anyone.

"So do you finally regret it?" Lori asked quietly. Lincoln forced himself to sit back up.

"I can't say that, Lori." He shook his head, and he could see her expression dip into disappointed sadness. "Loan told you that Lyra and Lemy are here. They're in that bedroom right down the hall." He pointed. "And they're great kids. All of them are. Lacy, Liby, Lupa, Liena-all of them are amazing."

Did Lori nod her head just the slightest at that?

"I can't even tell you how bad I feel for everything that happened. I ruined Lucy's life. She won't tell me, but I know it couldn't have been easy for her. Living with mom and dad and going to school." That was why he'd gone to her for a whole year before he even got back in contact with Lynn, Luan, and Leni. "Her sisters hate her because they think it's her fault mom and dad found out and everything got ruined."

"How did it happen?" Lori interrupted him.

"Mom and dad?" Lincoln wanted clarity.

"Yeah. But before that, you and Lucy. Talk." His big sister commanded. Lincoln flinched and pled his case.

"Well…she came to me right after Lynn moved out. She knew what we'd been doing. All of us, actually. She wanted to try." Lori was sneering at him again. "I turned her down at first. Look, we all agreed Lynn would be the end of it. She asked for it to be the end. The others asked for it to be the end. I _agreed_ it was going to be the end. We'd already started to realize it didn't work."

"And let me guess." Lori cut in, resting the side of her head on her palm. "She looked sad, kept asking, and you eventually gave in, right?" His silence confirmed it. "You know what? You get no sympathy from me for that. You should've known better."

"Yeah, I should have." He didn't disagree. Thinking back to that time was weird. He could remember thinking everything was fine, but not _why_ he thought it was fine. Maybe he'd left that reasoning like so many other things when he ran out of that house with little more than the clothes on his back. "Anyway, Lucy and me were talking in my room one night. We didn't know mom was listening outside the door. I'm not sure why she was listening, but she overheard us talking about the baby."

"She didn't catch you with your pants down. Shocking." Lori commented sarcastically.

"That wasn't all we did." Lincoln said, exasperated.

"Yeah, sure. So what happened next?"

"They called Lucy and me downstairs and put us in separate rooms and," Lincoln had to compose himself before he could get to the next part, the memories were that traumatizing. "and started asking questions." He sighed. "Everything just fell apart then. Neither of us could lie to them. They were upset and yelling. And then they started talking about calling the police and I just-I just panicked and ran out of the house."

Lori didn't have any snide remarks for him.

"I went to Lynn, but they already called her and she was freaking out. They started calling Luna and Luan too. I guess they suddenly realized the truth. All of us were scared. We thought we were going to jail. They were worried their kids would get taken away. It was the worst night of our lives."

"Luan and Lynn still live here. Their phones numbers still have the same area code. They didn't leave."

"They couldn't afford it and they refused when I brought it up." Lincoln explained. "Lynn and Luan didn't want to do that to their daughters, and Luna was pregnant-"

"How did that happen?" Lori interjected.

"Luna was starting to feel bummed out about staying in town while all her friends were gone. So I went over to cheer her up one day and…you know." He offered uncomfortably. Lori rolled her eyes and waved him to get back to the first story. "But I guess Lynn seemed off to them over the phone, so they showed up at her apartment, and I ran again."

"So you got scared mom and dad were going to get you and left Royal Woods? You ran out on them?" Lori accused.

"Lynn, Luan, and Luna all told me to run. They didn't want me getting arrested either. I didn't go that far at first; I stayed in Michigan while they tried to reason with mom and dad." Lori was sneering again. "They didn't buy it though."

"You don't say?" Lori faked shock. "They didn't buy any of that bullshit and you had to keep running. Luna went to California to start on her career even though she was pregnant and Lucy was left to do everything by herself." She was throwing the horrible truths like they were more slaps. "What about Lynn and Luan? What about Leni?" This conversation was wearing Lincoln down, but he kept it up.

"Lynn and Luan moved without telling mom and dad where they were going. They couldn't leave town, but I guess they hoped mom and dad would think they did. They've spent all these years avoiding going anywhere near the suburbs or where dad's restaurant is. Only going to stores they know mom and dad would never go to. Leni-" in spite of the current situation, Lincoln had to smile slightly. "-played dumb on the whole thing. She told me about it later. I think she's the only one that actually convinced mom and dad." Out of all of them, Leni had been the most surprising, managing the loss of secrecy and still taking the utmost joy in the things they still had to be joyful for.

"Luna told me about Leni. I'm glad she's doing what she loves." Lori's words are genuine. Things might've been tense in those last years, but Lori just hadn't been able to ignore her protectiveness for her very first sister. "So how long were you gone?"

"Years." Lincoln sighed. It wasn't a subject he enjoyed talking about. "I hitchhiked to Ohio where I didn't think they'd look. Did some odd jobs and begged for change. It was just barely enough. I'd thrown out my phone since I thought they'd use it to track me. I called…Luan, I think it was, after I checked into this motel down there. Right after I hung up, it started ringing. The caller ID had our house number on it. I think they got Lisa to help them. I freaked out and left right then and saw cop cars pulling into the parking lot when I was down the street."

"I kept moving south after that and didn't call any of them again. I broke down and emailed Luna after I thought Lemy had been born, and the exact same thing happened. I got scared again and went to work in Mexico for a few months. That little bit of Spanish Ronnie Anne taught me paid off a lot there." He tried to smile like he'd said something funny. "I came back and just kind of drifted around after that. I didn't think I could go home or reach anyone without getting caught."

"So if they wanted to arrest you, how did you end up back here?" She got up to refill her glass.

"I think mom and dad just told them I ran away from home and that's why they stopped looking after a year since I was an adult." But he'd never been sure, and that had added a few years to his exile. "I finally looked my name up on the internet and I didn't see it on any wanted lists or anything. Not even a missing person list. So I decided to risk it. Took me a month to get back here. After I did come back, Lucy told me they'd dropped out of contact with even her. She thinks they just decided to burn the bridges with all of us. Ignore us as long as we didn't see them again. I set up a bank account and rented this place and there were no red flags, so I'm pretty sure the police aren't involved anymore. I just have to avoid mom and dad."

"Okay, but _why_ did you come back?" Lori asked him, sitting back down. "If it's still really that dangerous, you should've stayed away. You could've come up to Chicago. Ronnie Anne would've helped you. _I_ would've helped you."

"You would've?" He asked.

"Yes, Lincoln!" And he was surprised by the insistence in her voice. "I never hated any of you. I would've helped if you'd just come to me." Well how was Lincoln supposed to know that? Lori had barely even talked to any of them in her final months at home. She'd never tried to reach them after she left either. She'd only just forgiven him.

"Is that why you watch Luna's kids?" He asked. "Even though you tried to kill her?"

"I wasn't going to kill her." Lori scoffed at the idea. "I just wanted to see how they were doing." She took a sudden interest in staring at his appliances rather than him, sipping some of her drink. "And see if I should try and get custody of them."

" _What_?!"

"But I realized Luna's got the whole parenting thing down." She turned to face him again. "Look, Lincoln," She leaned forward, looking earnest but sad at the same time. "What you guys did disgusts me and I'm still angry about it. But you're still my siblings. You made mistakes but I know you're all still good people. I never told mom and dad about any of you guys."

"You never talked to us either!" He wasn't sure why he was getting defensive. "You came here not even wanting to talk to me!"

"I was waiting for you guys to get over yourself." She didn't raise her voice, but the tension in her words were clear. "You gave me the silent treatment first. Did you really think I wanted to cut off all of you?"

"I don't know." Lincoln shook his head. "After what happened, I just…you would've been right to hate me." He admitted. Lori slumped back in her seat before she grabbed a cigarette out of her purse and lit it.

"Maybe I did at first." She admitted after a drag. She sighed heavily. "But not that bad. I don't think you deserved what happened to you, Lincoln." He didn't think he deserved this either. That any of them deserved this. They hadn't hurt anyone but themselves. They were trying to do good. Yet, they had to live like this, scraping by and tip toeing everywhere. It was unfair enough to bring frustrated tears to any of their eyes on a bad day.

"Look, back to what I was saying," They'd gotten way off topic, but Lincoln still wanted to make something clear. " _none_ of us regret this." He insisted. "None of us are going to walk away. No matter how hard it is, those kids make it all worth it. I thought about not coming back." He admitted. "But I came back for them."

Lori made a heavy sigh.

"I'm not going to say I approve…but I accept it."

"Did you really try and change my mind again after all these years?" He asked.

"I was making sure my little brother was okay." She said defensively. "I really wish you guys hadn't fallen into this. But if you're going to insist so much, I'm willing to let it be." Lori didn't approve of it, but she tolerated it. So maybe, just maybe, things could change.

"So…can things go back to normal?" He asked hopefully.

"Oh, this will never be normal." Lori perished the thought. "But that doesn't mean we can't stay in touch."

"So can I start getting Christmas cards?" Lincoln asked meekly.

"Yes, Lincoln." She smirked. "I'll start mailing you Christmas cards." He smiled too. Were things really patching them selves up like this? Over a decade in just a few hours? "I didn't think it'd be so easy."

"Families are like that." Lori told him. "Can't get rid of them, so you have to forgive and forget." Wasn't that the truth. He remembered all the conflicts they got into as kids. Even something as big as this though…Family was an incredible thing.

"Any chance you can forgive the others too?" Lincoln suggested hopefully.

"It's a two-way street, Lincoln." She crossed her arms. "When they come to me." Lincoln tapped his foot anxiously. He could feel a lot of momentum here, and a lot of good, and he didn't want it to go to waste.

"Well, can you at least call Lucy? Only Lucy. For me? Please?" He implored. "She barely has anyone, Lori, and she never really shut you out." He could see her considering it, jaw working.

"Fine." She relented. "Only Lucy though."

"I'll talk to Leni, Luan, and Lynn." Lincoln swore. "I just know Leni will be glad to talk to you again." That she'd gotten detached from Lori in the first place was a miracle in and of itself; Luna must've been extremely persuasive to convince her. Luan he was sure he could bring around with a little time. Lynn was like Lucy-Lori had been gone by the time things started, so there wasn't any serious animosity and they were only afraid after learning how she'd reacted to the others. He'd still have to phrase it carefully though.

"Still the same as always, Lincoln." Lori smiled. "You really were too nice for this. I would like to see more of my nieces." She said after a moment to think.

"I mean it though: things will get better. I promise." Maybe he was getting a little _too_ hopeful about making so many amends and stitching up so many problems at once, but that was who he was: an optimist, dedicated to making things work.

"If it goes like all your other stunts did, maybe it will. Things always did have a way of working out for you." Lori seemed to think about something for a moment, then pulled out a small notepad and pen from her purse. "Here." She handed it to him after scribbling something. "Lola and Lana's numbers. Lisa doesn't have a private one." Lincoln looked down at the small piece of paper, and the two names scrawled above two different numbers. His breath hitched in his throat. Something else thought lost but now so close.

"I'm not sure…"

"They're not little girls anymore, Lincoln. They'll understand keeping you a secret from mom and dad. Just don't tell them about…you know." Lincoln hadn't even pondered doing something like that.

"Thanks, Lori." Lincoln stared down at the piece of paper. It was a shame it was the middle of the night. "Lola's probably going to yell at me." He tried to be funny. "I was always helping with her make up and dress and I ran away from home only two days before one of her pageants."

"You're going to get an earful for that." Lori warned him.

"Yeah…But I'd love to hear one of her rants again. Good or bad, it'll be great to hear from them again."

"Did you ever think about getting in contact with mom and dad again?" His sister asked him, and Lincoln's face fell. He shook his head.

"That's too far, Lori. You weren't there. You didn't see and hear them. That's the one thing I know I'll never get back, no matter what."

"They really missed you when they called me Lincoln." Lori tried to convince him.

"I'm not taking the chance!"

"Ok, ok. Fine." She guarded after his outburst. She waited for him to speak again.

"We've never told any of the kids the truth." He informed her. "Even the older ones. But we plan to."

"Then you're all dumbasses." Lori was blunt.

"I think they have a right to know." Lincoln reasoned. "I want them to understand so I can apologize. I was going to take care of all of them before we got found out. I know you don't believe I could've, but I was going to. Some of them had a rough time growing up. They didn't deserve it."

"No, they didn't." Lori agreed. "But Lincoln-you better understand they don't have to buy into a single word you or their moms tell them. Don't force them to agree with you guys."

"We won't." Lincoln wasn't entirely convincing, and he knew it was because he wasn't sure himself. There was that very small chance they might force them away with the knowledge, however much he didn't want to believe it. He and Luna had no idea what they'd do if that was the case. He wasn't sure what the others would do in the same circumstance either.

"Because they _are_ my nieces and nephew, Lincoln. I do care about them, and I will do something if I see anything wrong."

"That's good. Really." She seemed surprised when he accepted her warning. And why wouldn't he? They barely had each other watching their backs. Knowing someone else was looking out would help him sleep at night. "Lyra seems to think highly of you as an aunt. I think the others would too."

"I bet they could use some order in their lives." Lori sounded the most like the Lori he remembered then-a commander who brought order to chaos.

"Some of them could use it." Lincoln admitted.

"Why don't you tell me about them?" Lori suggested. "Besides Luna's, obviously." God, Lori was actually interested now. This whole reversal of fortunes was jarring, but Lincoln couldn't help but love every minute of it.

He and his sister ended up talking well into the morning.


	20. Chapter 20

Was it a sin to lie to yourself? That was the top layer of the things that plagued her mind last night. She told herself she wasn't that disappointed over not getting to see her grandparents. She told herself she didn't resent her uncle for lying to her. But she'd eventually realized those were both lies. And so back to the question: was is a sin to lie to yourself?

She didn't want to resent her uncle, but he'd admitted to lying straight to her face. It was jarring, considering he'd been nothing but honest for the rest of their visit. It made a niggling doubt in her mind: had he lied about anything else?

And was she so bummed out about not getting to see her grandparents? She didn't really know them that well; hardly anything about them, really. So what was it then? There was something she'd really wanted at that point that had been taken away from her at that moment: answers. She wanted to know what had happened with a longing that grew day by day. She didn't even know what she would do with those answers when she got them, she just knew she wanted them.

She didn't resent her life enough to wish it could've been different. She was sure she wasn't lying to herself when she thought that. She hoped she wasn't lying.

Despite getting nine hours of sleep and always being an early riser, Lyra woke up the day after Loan left feeling fatigued. It was only 5 in the morning. She must've been twisting in her sleep, because the covers and her hair were a mess. It was unusual.

She was in no mood to start her day at that moment, and would've willingly stayed in bed if nature didn't mandate a need to leave. She lethargically squirmed her way out from under the blanket. She'd pee and come straight back to bed. Maybe a few more hours would make her more agreeable to the day.

As she shuffled into the hallway, she realized she heard voices from the living room, one feminine. More unexpected visitors? She went to investigate.

The surprise for this morning was discovering Aunt Lori was over. Lincoln and her were sitting on the couch, his photo album laid out across both their laps while they pointed and reminisced over the contents.

"I don't even know how we avoided going to jail that time."

"They probably didn't want to go through the effort of getting enough cars to take us." They flipped a page, and Lyra's uncle burst out laughing.

"Did Lynn ever tell you what happened to us that Halloween?" He asked, looking over at his sister and noticing Lyra in the background. "Lyra." Aunt Lori turned and looked at her too. "You're up early."

"You need a hairbrush." Her aunt told her bluntly. Lyra raised a hand and felt the knots as she ran it through.

"Hi, Aunt Lori." Lyra yawned. "What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd drop in for a visit." Just a random visit? Lyra's tired mind worked. This would've been the first time her uncle had seen his sister in years, just like Loan. They were clearly catching up with each other. Lyra didn't think it right to intrude.

"I'm still tired." She said apologetically. "It was nice to see you."

"Go get some sleep." Her aunt advised. "We'll see each other again." Lyra nodded and stepped back into the hallway before heading to the bathroom to take care of what she'd gotten up for in the first place.

 _How nice for him_. The thought crossed her mind as she shuffled back to the bedroom after she was done. Getting in touch with someone he'd wanted to for years. Finally reconnecting with a happy part of your past you missed. How nice for him. Lyra would've loved some good fortune like that.

 _Stop that_. She told herself as she slid back into bed. Envy rotted the bones. Would her life really be that different if she'd grown up in contact with her grandparents? It'd probably be another place mom would let them stay for a while. Only ever stay. They'd be people her and Lemy would only see a few times a year, probably, because their lives were with mom on the road. Again, it wasn't a life she'd change for anything.

It was still nice and warm under the covers. Like always, Lemy had fallen asleep as close to the edge as he could but ended up rolling closer to the middle in his sleep. Lyra moved in close and got comfortable again. It didn't matter, she told herself again. It was nothing to get worked up about.

She went back to sleep.

Later that Morning

After six hours reminiscing, Lori finally decided she should head back home. As fun as she admitted it was, she still had stuff to do at home and thought it better to make the drive before she started getting tired. Lincoln didn't want her to go, but what he'd gotten was enough to be thankful for. They hugged each other tightly before she departed, with promises to talk again soon.

Lincoln spent the rest of the morning in a joyful stupor. Everything seemed just a little better now. He felt like a man exonerated. Yeah, he still bad for what had happened and all those years of separation, but now he was forgiven. Now, things could be fixed. A lot of things, he kept thinking as he repeatedly glanced at the note pad with the phone numbers Lori had written down for him. It was still too early right now. Later.

Lyra and Lemy got up later in the morning than usual. Lincoln greeted them warmly, but couldn't help but notice Lyra still seemed a little distant. The haze cleared long enough for Lincoln to wonder if and how he should sit down and apologize for lying again. Would she ask questions? Questions he couldn't answer till Luna got here? It really worried him to see her so obviously displeased with him, but he didn't think he could do anything.

Speaking of Luna, he still had to call her. So while Lemy and Lyra were up, he said he was going to the store and that'd he'd be back. He brought up Luna's number in the stairwell and pressed call. It was just after 11 in the morning. She picked up just as he walked out onto the street.

"Lincoln." She sounded relieved. "Is Loan gone?"

"Yeah, she is. I'm still alive." He still thought she was over reacting. "Actually, I got some good news about her." It was good news to him, anyway. Luna might not agree. "Lori came by to thank me last night." He heard a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line.

"What happened?" Luna asked.

"We talked for a while." Lincoln explained. "I uh…I told her I was sorry about what happened when we were all kids."

"It was her fault."

"We weren't nice to her, Luna. You know that." Lincoln reasoned. "She deserved an apology."

"Not from me." Luna denied. How had she ever re-connected with Lori with that attitude?

"Well, I apologized." Lincoln restated. "And she forgave me, and we spent the whole night catching up. She gave me Lana and Lola's numbers while we talked, and she gave me hers before she left. I got my oldest sister back. And I'm going to try and meet with Lola and Lana after Lyra and Lemy leave."

"Good to hear bro. I'm happy for you." Luna didn't really sound that happy. By then, Lincoln had reached Flip's, but he loitered outside while the conversation went on. "She didn't bite your head off, did she?"

"Kinda." He confessed. "She asked me about all that time I spent away, and what happened with Lucy. She wasn't happy."

"No shite."

"But she said she still loves all of us, even if she doesn't agree with what we did."

"She gave me the same line." Luna told him.

"You know, she told me why she never called anyone else." Lincoln decided to tell her. "She's waiting for everyone to apologize. She only called me because it was an emergency."

"I didn't apologize for a damn thing."

"Well, maybe she was just waiting for us to reach out first?" Lincoln suggested. "I convinced her to call Lucy though. I figured she needed someone else to talk too."

"That's a good deal, bro." Luna sounded pleased. "Luce does need that. Always looking out for other people." She gave him the same compliment Lori had.

"I try." Lincoln smiled to himself. But now he had something more difficult to say. "Listen, Luna." He said unsurely. "I think there's a problem with Lyra."

"What?" Luna asked sharply. "What happened? Did Lori or her daughter do something?" She demanded.

"Kind of." Lincoln sighed. "Lori and Bobby didn't come to pick Loan up. I had to go drop her off at her grandparents' house. Our parent's house." There was dead silence on both ends of the conversation for several long moments. He thought he could hear Luna's breathing quicken. Hell, just talking about it had make his heartbeat increase. "And Loan wasn't comfortably being alone with me…so she demanded Lyra come with us. She knows where her grandparents live now." He revealed the full scale of the problem.

He heard movement on Luna's end followed by an audibly growled "Shit!". He thought she'd just paced around whatever room she was in and swore. "Blond bitch…" He had no idea if Luna was talking about Lori or Loan. He waited till she brought the phone back up to her ear.

"How's she handling it?" Luna asked. "Is she asking anything?"

"No. But I think she's mad at me." Lincoln sighed. "I showed her a bunch of pictures of when she was little and when we were kids. One of them had mom and dad holding her. I'm sorry, I was just excited they were there. She got curious and asked about them, and I lied and said they moved out of Royal Woods. She told me she really wanted to meet them, and I think she's mad I lied about them."

"Yeah. When she was 6 or 7, she kept asking me about them." Luna revealed. "She definitely remembers them. And she really wants to know about what happened between us and them. Those pictures you showed her got her really curious. I promised I'd tell her when I came to pick them up."

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't be." Luna didn't let him apologize. "I was hoping for you to show them that stuff when I sent them." He heard her sigh. "Look, we got a show in a few days. Sam and my manager are going to be pissed, but I can cancel it if I have to. Be honest with me bro: Do you got everything under control up there?"

Did he?

"I think so." He answered. "I won't say anything till you get there. I'm just going to feel a little bad if Lyra's going to sulk like that."

"Just don't slip up. Wait for me, Lincoln."

"I'll wait." He promised.

"Ok, bro. I believe you." Luna assured him. "Look after our kids. And don't worry about Lyra. Trust me bro, she still likes you no matter what it looks like. We'll talk again soon."

"Yeah. Talk to you soon, Luna. Have fun at that show."

"Always." They ended the call. Lincoln leaned back against the wall of Flip's and blew some air out into the sky. His life was never boring, that was for damn sure. He went inside and got a few snacks. On the way back, he kept mentally reassuring himself. Everything would be fine.

When he did get back to his apartment, he was surprised to see both his kids, or at least Lemy since he usually hung around without any shoes on, dressed like they were going somewhere. Lyra seemed to jump a little when he saw them.

"You guys going somewhere?" He asked.

"That arcade." Lemy answered.

"Gus' Game and Grub?" Lincoln guessed. Nothing unusual about that. So why did Lyra jump? "Alright. You guys have fun. Just call me if there's a problem." Drawing attention to it was probably a bad idea. Besides, this was an opportunity for him-he could call Lola or Lana.

"We will." Lyra didn't sound any different. Maybe he'd imagined it. They were gone only a few minutes later, after making sure they had everything. Lincoln was left alone at his desk, fingers drumming the surface while he stared at the piece of paper Lori had given him, contemplating. Yeah, they'd meet up later. But there was no harm in setting it up now, surely? Just letting them know he was alive and wanted to see them.

He should definitely call Lola first. If he called Lana first, Lola would inevitably hear about it from her before Lincoln called her. He was sure her anger would be greater in that case rather than him just calling her directly.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket. Faced with the actual act instead of the prospect, his dedication obviously started to wane and his gut turned to jelly. But he steeled his nerves. He'd apologized to Lori. He could do anything. Or was he underestimating the power of an angry Lola? That gave him pause.

There was no turning back once he actually did it, so he made himself type in the number and hit call while he still had the willpower. All in now. He held the phone to his ear nervously while the tone went on and on. Five seconds. Ten seconds. And around the thirteen second mark, someone answered.

"Who is this?" A woman's voice demanded. She sounded different; her voice wasn't as high pitched anymore. But it still had the same attitude in it.

"Is this Lola Loud?" Even if Lori had given him the number, he had to ask. He wanted to be sure.

"This is a private line creep! I have friends in the police department that can find you!" Well, this conversation was off to a good start.

"Lori gave me this number." That made a break in the conversation. "It's Lincoln." He heard a surprised gasp.

" _Lincoln?"_ Gone was the hostility from her voice.

"Yeah." Lincoln breathed. "It's really me. Your big brother." The line suddenly clicked and he heard nothing. He'd been hung up on. He frowned, staring at the call dismissed notice flashing mockingly on his screen. After a few moments, the phone slipped loudly out of his hands and onto the desk. She didn't want to talk to him? He slumped back in his seat. Maybe Lori's wasn't the bridge that was burned after all.

Just as the thought went through his head, his phone buzzed. He quickly grabbed it and scanned the screen. It was a text from Lori: "Lola called me." There was more, but before he could read it he got an incoming call from the same number he'd just called. He answered it without hesitation.

"Lincoln!" That sounded much closer to the 12-year-old Lola he remembered. It was a voice full of emotion too.

"Yeah." Lincoln couldn't help but let his voice become a little heavy too. "It's really me." He swore again. She must've called Lori to confirm it. He heard no words from the other line, just high-pitched sounds that descended into soft crying. Tears of joy, he really hoped. And then in an instant, it disappeared.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!" He held the phone away from his ear. Yep, he expected this. "YOU HAVE A LOT TO ANSWER FOR, LINCOLN LOUD!" He heard a door slam in the background. "WHERE ARE YOU?" She demanded.

"I'm back in Royal Woods." Lincoln answered, now unsure. Was she…? The sound of another door slamming and a car started up confirmed it.

He was in trouble now. She was coming for him.

"Where?!" The volume in her voice went down. Not a whole lot, but a little.

"I can't say right now." Lincoln said quickly. Maybe he should've put a little more forethought into this. "But I do want to see-"

"Lori knows your address. Don't think I won't go to her!" Lola threatened. Lincoln had just reconnected with Lori. He really didn't want to be responsible for unleashing an angry Lola on her.

"Lola, wait!" Now Lincoln had to plea. "I want to see you and Lana again! I just can't right now." He heard a car horn blare in bursts for a few seconds, and imagined someone blond repeatedly punching it. He wasn't sure if she was still listening, but he kept talking. "Just not right now." He repeated. "But soon. Two weeks, maybe?" He suggested hopefully. Luna and him would've talked to Lyra and Lemy by then.

"TWO WEEKS TOO MANY." Lincoln was starting to wonder if his memories were muddled and his sister had never had an inside voice. "WHY EVEN BOTHER CALLING ME IN THE FIRST PLACE?!" She demanded.

"I just wanted to talk." Lincoln pleaded. "See how you were doing and see if we could meet up in person."

"Hmph." Lola wasn't pleased by his answer. "Well, the answer is 'fine'. I have a modeling career, obviously. What are YOU doing Mr. Runaway?"

"I'm drawing comics, just like I always dreamed. Modeling, huh? Always knew you had it in you. Is my little sister famous?"

"Well, _obviously_." Still full of her self as always, but he could hear her voice defrosting.

"Listen, Lola, I know this is sudden. But please, can we meet up some time soon? We can talk face to face instead of over a phone. Where are you?"

"New York. But I can catch a plane." She stated. "You have a lot to explain, Lincoln!"

"I know, but if you guys will see me, I promise I'll tell you. But uh…just don't tell mom and dad you heard from me, alright?" He asked. "They don't know I still live in Royal Woods."

"Hmph." Lola responded. "I'll consider it once you beg for my forgiveness when we meet." She stopped to think. "You want to meet with Lana and me at the same time?"

"Yeah." Lincoln confirmed. "I was actually about to call her next and-"

"Oh no you don't!" Lola warned. "She's _my_ twin. I'll call her and tell her. You can call in ten minutes after we're done. And Lincoln." She warned. "I will be calling you again in a few days." And with that that, the first conversation he'd had with Lola in 10 years ended. Of course her twin was the only thing that would pull her away from her brother she hadn't seen in ages. It had been short and ended abruptly, but he found out what he wanted to. He accomplished what he wanted.

"That went well." Lincoln said to himself. Considering what could've happened and nearly did happen. He'd always had a niggling fear in the back of his mind he might've messed up the minds of his youngest sisters by disappearing so quickly. He was close to them. Depended upon as the oldest sibling in the house now. And only that. ONLY that.

He had a fear for the longest time that his parents would assume the absolute worst of him after they found out about Lucy and think to ask Lola and Lana if he'd done anything. He hadn't, and he never intended to. They were his little sisters. End of story. That's all he wanted. If they found out the truth, they might not be able to see it that way. A bridge burned like Lori. But if they had heard anything like that, surely Lola would've mentioned it in their conversation? He must've been in the clear in that regard. And Lola was doing well, so Lana must've been doing reasonably well too. He'd confirm it when he called her.

Now he just sat and waited, knowing better than to go against Lola's word. After 15 minutes, just to be safe, he picked up his phone again and dialed the second number Lori had written down.

"You called Lola first instead of me?!" Those were the first words he heard from his sister in almost a decade. She must've already gotten over her surprise talking to Lola. Lana's voice was still rough and slightly unfeminine.

"Hi Lana." Lincoln said wearily. The twins had always argued. They both had that type of fire in them. Maybe he was naïve to think he'd get out of this without a verbal beatdown. "I thought it'd be easier if I dealt with her anger first."

"Well, good call." His sister congratulated him. "Lola's got a MAJOR attitude problem now. It's cost her 4 boyfriends and 3 contracts."

"Well…I guess I made a really good call then." Now Lincoln was unsure. He didn't cause Lola to become like that, did he?

"Yeah, her doc said all that fake acting for pageants and shows messed up her mind. Modeling is a messed up business. Having to pretend all the time. He tried to tell her to take a break from modeling too, but she's as stubborn as a mule. Don't tell her I told you, but she's on some pills." Even if it did a little to absolve him of guilt, it wasn't encouraging in the slightest.

"What about you?" Lincoln asked. "What are you up to these days?"

"Oh, lots of stuff." Lana sounded proud. "Run my own business from home. Plumbing, auto repair, whatever people need. I make loads."

"Skills to pay the bills." Lincoln smiled. "Any boyfriends yet?"

"Had a few so far." Lana answered. "But they keep running away when they meet my pet alligator." Pet alligator?

"I'm not surprised at all."

"He's a good boy. He does tricks!" Lana insisted. "You're doing comics now?" Lola must've told her.

"Yeah. It isn't making me rich, but I love doing it. Listen." He got straight to the point. "I want to see you and Lola again. Soon."

"Oh hell yeah! I'm only outside Detroit. I got a flexible schedule, so just let me know when you and Lola agree on a time."

"That's great." Lincoln said. "I guess we should save the longer conversations for when we meet in person, huh? There's a lot to talk about…"

"Yeah. I got a ton of cool stories to tell you." Lana's excitement never wavered. "Call me soon?"

"I will." Lincoln promised. "I can't tell you how great is it to hear from you two again. I missed you."

"We did too. Oh, and Lola already told me what you asked. Not a word to mom and pop. These lips are sealed."

They talked for a few more minutes. In spite of how sudden it was, neither Lola or Lana were holding it against him. They were just as excited as he was. They'd never thought he was dead, and were always waiting for that day he'd come back. Well, now he had, and now they could all finally see each other again. Everyone wanted the same thing.

It was all looking up.

That Afternoon

Lyra never usually had an inclination to stray far from any dwelling, but her desire to leave the apartment had been uncomfortably strong. She'd asked Lemy if he'd wanted to go to that arcade again, since it lay on the bus routes, and he'd agreed. So they went. Lyra had to insist to herself she just wanted to make use of the last weeks of their time here to do something unique and not because she didn't want to look at her uncle all day.

It couldn't be. She wasn't that petty. Her mother may have never lied to her, but she'd done a lot more to earn her daughter's ire. More than her uncle, definitely, and Lyra didn't go out of her way to avoid her.

She had no interest in the games or food, so she just stayed at a table while Lemy went out and had fun. But by herself, she could only think or read, and she really wasn't in the mood for reading. She hadn't even brought her bible with her.

When her uncle had left for a few minutes, Lyra had taken note of the picture albums he'd put on his desk. Something had compelled her to go up to them and open them, flipping through the pictures. Most of them, she could still remember him describing at the start of their visit.

He got to hold onto those memories, but could keep them hidden from his niece and nephew why? What even was so bad to separate that drastically from the rest of the family? So bad that no was able to actually act like a sensible person and learn forgiveness for the sake of children, the greatest gift on Earth? Lyra didn't know, but she did know that everyone involved had to have been worse people then she gave them credit for.

She realized how annoyed and agitated she was getting. Her face was hot. Her legs were jittery and she for whatever reason she felt a sudden urge to jump. She needed to cool down. She stood up and went to the girl's bathroom to splash some cold water on her face. While she was there, she looked at herself in the mirror. She really did look worked up.

A girl with a backpack came up to the sink besides Lyra. Something was dangling off the back of it that caught Lyra's eye: a small stuffed rabbit. Lyra frowned. _Why does that look so familiar?_ Something about it picked at her mind.

The girl, a blond that had to be only a few years older than Lyra, caught her looking at it.

"Sorry." Lyra apologized. "It just caught my eye is all."

"It's cute, isn't it?" She asked, unclipping it from her backpack. "Its name is Bun-bun."

Bun-bun?! Lyra's eyed widened. She _knew_ she'd heard that before. She was certain. Then she remembered: those pictures her uncle had showed her at the start of the visit. The same one she'd flipped through before Lemy and her left. He'd had a stuffed rabbit named Bun-bun, one he ended up giving to his youngest sister.

This girl was her aunt.

Lyra swayed slightly on her feet, shocked, and used the sink to hold herself up.

"Are you okay?" The other girl asked, sounding worried. "Do you need to sit down?" She stuck a hesitant hand out.

"You're Lily, aren't you?" Lyra whispered. Now the blond girl looked confused and worried.

"I'm sorry…" She took a step back. "Do we know each other?"

"Lily Loud, right?" Lyra asked, unable to keep herself from asking questions. "You had a bunch of sisters, and a brother who gave you that doll, right?" She asked. Was this all just a freak coincidence? Or had she really just run into a member of her disconnected family? Lyra's seeming omniscience was unnerving her conversation partner.

"Who _are_ you?" She asked, holding the doll close to her chest.

"Lyra Loud." As soon as she said it, Lily's eyes widened. "My mom's Luna Loud. I…I think you're my aunt."

"Lyra?!" Lily gasped excitedly. "I remember you! We used to play together all the time!" Had they? "You were so small though! How old are you now?" She asked, looking her up and down before suddenly pulling her into a hug.

"I'm turning 16 in October. You're 18?" Lyra guessed. She'd only been born a few years after her aunt, and she only looked like a young woman.

"Yeah." She let go and stepped back, quickly grabbing a camera out of her bag and snapping a picture of Lyra before she could get ready. "This is so crazy! I can't believe it!"

"Me neither." Lyra breathed. What were the odds? In a town as big as this one?

"Are you here with Luna?!" Lily suddenly grabbed her shoulders and leaned in close. "Is she here?" She asked urgently.

"N-no." Now she was making Lyra uneasy. "She's on tour still. I'm here with my little brother." She watched excitement and hopefulness fade from her aunt's eyes like a smoldered fire before reigniting slightly.

"You have a brother?" She asked. Then she gasped as she realized something. "Luna was going to have a baby before she left! It was a boy?" So, her aunt remembered back to a time before her mom left the house. A time when Lyra had even been allowed to visit her grandparents. How much did she know?

"Yes." Lyra nodded. "His name is Lemy."

"Can I see him?" Lily begged.

"He's out there." Lyra pointed to the door behind them. Her aunt grabbed her arm without a word and quickly pulled her after her, like an excited child rather than a young adult. Lyra's mind was still spinning. Her aunt. She'd just stumbled across her aunt in public, one she barely remembered and one her mom, aunts, and uncle didn't keep in touch with. But one that could tell her about events further back than Lyra could remember.

What was she supposed to do now?

"That's our table right there." Lyra stopped her. "If you wait there, I'll go get him." Disconnected from her, Lyra deftly moved through the crowd. Her mind was still spinning and asking that question: What now? What now? Did Lyra ask a lot of questions to see what her aunt knew? Her mom and uncle wouldn't mind, surely? Or would they? The indecision swirled so much that when she found Lemy playing a game cabinet, she just stood behind him for a few moments without saying anything.

"Lemy." She spoke up, her voice uneven.

"Yeah." He didn't look back at her.

"You need to come back to the table with me. It's important." She told him. He glanced back at her, looking at her face specifically before taking his hands off the controls and deciding to walk back with her. She grabbed his hand at one point without realizing it.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing's wrong." She assured him. "There's just someone you need to see." Lily was scanning the crowd for them and jumped up and made a beeline for them when she saw them.

"Oh, he's so cute!" She gushed. Lemy got defensive and took a step back. Lily quick-drawed her camera again and snapped a picture before Lemy could hide. Lyra managed to prepare herself this time before she snapped a photo of her and Lemy together.

"Who are you?" Lemy stepped back against his sister.

"This is Lily. She's one of her aunts." Lyra explained. She put her hands on his shoulder and steered him back towards the table. His feet dragged and he didn't move wholly willingly. The three took seats, one eager young woman, one uneasy teenager, and one very defensive boy.

What now? Fortunately, her aunt was excited enough to keep the conversation going. "So do you guys live here in Royal Woods? Does Luna live here too? I've always wanted to see her show when she comes here, but my parents would never let me get a ticket. But I got one for her show in a few weeks!" She was talking a mile a minute.

"You haven't seen my mom in a long time, have you?" Lyra asked.

"No…" And just like that, the energy faded from her aunt's eyes. She looked down at the table. "She moved out a long time ago. So did my other sisters and my brother Lincoln. None of them even call." She said sadly. They didn't call because they were trying to avoid their parents, who Lily would've been living with up until recently. Or maybe even still. Lyra could piece that much together. Lemy suddenly opened his mouth.

"We're staying with Lincoln. He lives right by here." Lyra's hand shot out to silence him too late.

"Where?" Lily asked, bewildered at first. "Where?" She demanded this time. "Tell me!"

"It's not our place to say." And suddenly, Lyra was defensive. Logic had filled her brain. This really wasn't their place. If her mom and uncle had distanced themselves, it would've been for a good reason. This was a matter her uncle had looked faint about. It was serious. And if they continued down this conversation, she could very well bring what he hoped to avoid down on him. She couldn't do that, to either her mom or uncle. Whatever qualms she had with either of them, she couldn't willingly bring trouble like that to them.

"I think," She made a hard decision, "we should be going." She stood up quickly, grabbing Lemy's arm. They were going to disengage from this situation.

Unfortunately, that plan wasn't very effective since Lily could just stand up too and follow them. And that's what she did, running after them even. "Hey!" Lyra realized how fruitless her efforts were and stopped. "Where is Lincoln?" Lily asked again.

"Listen, I'm sorry. But we shouldn't be talking. Lincoln and our mom won't be happy." Lyra insisted.

"Why not?" Lily demanded. "I haven't seen my brother in years, and no one will tell me why he left. Now I'm supposed to just ignore him when I found out here's here?" Lily's words broke her. Lyra suddenly realized how similar the situation both of them was in was. They'd both had great things-a big family for Lyra and Lemy and a caring brother for Lily-taken from them without explanation. Explanations that they were probably both owed. She wanted to know why, just as badly as Lyra. And the fact she wasn't alone suddenly made all the difference.

"I'll show you where he lives." Lyra changed her mind.


	21. Chapter 21

They stayed in silence until they got to the bus stop. Everyone's mind was racing too much for idle chitchat. Lily was thinking about her long-lost brother, Lyra had a heavy feeling in her stomach as she wondered if she'd committed an irreversible wrong, and Lemy was trying to figure out what the heck was going on. But there was only so much silence on edge people could bare, and it was Lily that made the first bit of conversation to distract everyone from their thoughts.

"So, how is Lincoln?" Lily asked meekly. "How's he doing?"

"Uhh…good." Lyra answered awkwardly. "He has his own apartment. He's an artist."

"He taught me how to draw." Lily recalled. Lyra made a little noise in her throat and nodded in a minimal display of acknowledgment.

"Do you do anything?" She asked her aunt.

"Oh, not yet." Lily shook her head. "But I'm going to college at the end of August. I'm going to study journalism." That explained the camera. "I guess you're too young to have a job."

"Yes." Lyra confirmed.

The bus was taking its time getting to them.

"Do you go to school here in Royal Woods?" Lily asked.

"We're homeschooled." Lyra explained. "We don't spend a lot of time in this town. Just when we're staying with our aunts…" The last word almost died when she realized the implication of it, but sadly it got out before she could stop it.

"My sisters?" Lily cocked her head slightly. "Which ones?" Now Lyra had let information slip. "None of the ones I keep in touch with still live here." Lyra bit her lip. "Lincoln's not the only one who still lives here, isn't he?"

"I…uh…Lincoln will tell you." Lyra mumbled. Her aunt did a frustrated stomp before turning and pacing around the bus stop for a moment.

"Sorry!" She rushed back over to them. "I'm not mad at you guys, I swear. This whole day just turned…" She waved her hands and made some sound between a grunt and a shriek.

"I understand completely." Lyra assured. "You really miss him, don't you?" And that made her aunt stop and think.

"I mean, he moved away when I was only 7. I shouldn't remember a whole lot about him, but I do. I swear I can even remember him from when I was a baby. Does that make sense?" She asked.

"I can remember when I was 5." Lyra tried to empathize.

"And after he left, even though I was seven, I really missed him. And Lola and Lana-they're my sisters-kept talking about him. And I remember asking my parents but they didn't want to talk about it, but that just made me want to know about it even more!" Her voice had risen so that the last word was a shout, making the other two people at the bus stop look at them curiously. Lily calmed herself down.

"I swear I can remember way back before that. And he was always there. And…" Lily trailed off as the bus came into view. It pulled up, and the three embarked. The back was unoccupied, so they took it for the advantage of privacy. Lily resumed what she'd been saying. "He was my big brother. He helped me with my homework and tucked me in at night. He took me to the park. He was always _there._ Not just for me, but the whole family. And then he just disappeared without telling any of us. I've never forgotten it. It felt like everything changed."

"And me and some of my older sisters," she started counting off, "Lola, Lana, and Lucy. ALL of us felt it. And we kept wondering about him. I wondered who was going to tuck me in. He helped Lola compete in these beauty pageants, and she couldn't find anyone to help her. I tried, but it wasn't my thing."

"He was important to you." Lyra summarized.

"He was. My sisters, too. He was always there." Lily confirmed. "Our lives just felt so different after he left. Things got really hard. Lola and Lana kept trying to bug our parents about it, but that just led to a lot of fights. I spent my entire childhood thinking about it. No one wanted to tell me anything, and that just made me angry." She paused, looking a little embarrassed. "I talked to a therapist about it for a little while."

Lyra was biting her lip. She remembered her uncle reminiscing about family and seeming really sad about this. She felt the exact same energy here. Lyra already wondered what could a big rift for a family that size that was so close. But for the first time she was wondering how it felt to go through whatever that was. Her mom and uncle went through it with a sad acceptance, but the girl in front of her seemed haunted by it in comparison.

"He missed you and your sisters." Lyra offered, trying to reassure her aunt and defend her uncle from unstated accusations.

"How long has he been here?!" Lily demanded. "He never visited!" Lyra flinched a little at the sudden tone shift. By her cousins' accounts, he'd lived here for a few years.

"He's terrified of your parents." Lyra tried to explain.

"Why?" Her aunt's anger waned for a moment.

"…I don't know." Lyra admitted after a pause. "But I can sense you're angry. We've been staying with him for over a month now. We know him, and he really misses that life with a big family. He has a picture book full of those times. I'm certain he didn't want to leave you or any of your other sisters."

Lily sighed and kicked the empty seat in front of her a few times. "I really hope he can tell me why. I've wondered about it for years." Years. Lyra's obsession was keeping here from sleeping and she'd only had it a month at the most. This was a girl in front of her who'd suffered so much more and for longer. She reached over and put a hand on her aunt's shoulder as a comforting gesture.

"Hey, do you know any of the other kids?" She asked. "Luna wasn't the only one. A lot of my sisters had kids I played with when they were babies: Liena, Liby, Lacy, Lupa. You know any of them?"

"We see them a few times a year." Lyra answered truthfully. She hoped her aunt wasn't going to ask her about her other aunts. She didn't want to feel any more nagging guilt. Lily clearly needed this meeting, but was this the right choice? What would end up happening? "They're all doing great, I promise." Lily nodded, and didn't push the subject or any related ones, fortunately.

The bus had to do a full loop around its route. It'd still be a good 15-20 minutes before they reached the stop closest to the apartment.

"You know, it's funny." Lily remarked. "I don't usually go to that place. I only did it to get some muse for my photography. But it's how I found you guys. Or maybe it's fate." She noticed Lyra's cross.

"Maybe." She picked up the sign of faith and gift from her mother and gazed at it. God had his plan. Surely this was all a part of it. She didn't need to feel so guilty. But she did.

"So, are you a Rockstar like you mom?" Lily leaned over Lyra to talk to Lemy. The boy had stayed quiet the whole time out of disconnect and wariness.

"One day." He mumbled.

"I see Luna on the news a lot." Lily told them. "It must be awesome having a mom like her. When I was little, she never had any rules."

"She's pretty cool." Lemy warmed up slightly.

"You almost look just like I remember her, too." Lily addressed Lyra, looking over her features. Lyra couldn't even manage an 'uh huh'. She just blushed in embarrassment and avoided eye contact. "Do you remember any of when we were little?" She asked.

"Not really." Lyra admitted, embarrassed.

"It's fine." Her aunt dismissed her worry. "You were reeealy little. Can you at least tell me if my sisters are okay? You must've seen some of them." Lyra couldn't lie to her.

"Yeah. All the ones that went missing are fine. I promise." Lily nodded. It wasn't all she wanted, but it was better than the nothing she'd gotten for the last years on end. "What happened the day he left? If that's okay!" Lyra quickly clarified.

"I don't know." Lily shook her head. "He was there when I went to bed, and he was gone the next morning. My sister Lucy said he had a fight with our parents about something. And whatever it was was bad enough for him to leave. I'm not sure why it would make him scared of them though. And I didn't know he didn't leave Royal Woods. But he's the only one who actually left. My other siblings who'd moved out just stopped talking to us, and we just kind of assumed they moved away."

"Do you still talk to her? Aunt Lucy?" Lyra asked. Her aunt shook her head.

"The same thing happened after she moved out. I only talk to two of my sisters now. We promised each other we'd always stay in touch. How many of them do you guys know?" She asked, frowning. Lyra figured there wasn't any point in trying to deny it.

"All of them except for Lola, Lana, and Lisa, but our mom and Lincoln has talked about them a few times." Lily thought about it for a moment.

"So, you have to know where they live." It wasn't a question; it was a statement. "I know it's like we just met and all, but please…be honest. Do you know why none of them want to talk to me anymore? Or our parents?" She looked at Lyra with pleading eyes, but all the younger teen could do was shake her head.

"I don't know. My mom promised to tell me when she comes into town next week. I've been wondering about it too. We've always grown up with just our mom really. But I saw and heard about how close everyone was. I'm kind of jealous of you, to be honest." Her aunt sighed, and turned to stare out the window, some thoughts on her mind. Lyra took some time to collect her own thoughts before she noticed Lemy just staring towards the front of the bus.

"Hey." Lyra put a hand on his shoulder. He look up at her. "How are you holding up?"

"This is weird." He didn't look at her.

"I'm sorry." She pulled him close. "Listen, we're not going home. Lily will just want to talk with our uncle and we should give them privacy. We'll go somewhere again." She felt Lily tapping her on her shoulder and turned back,

"Hey, you have a phone, don't you?" She asked.

"I do."

"Then let's swap numbers." She pulled a cell phone out of her backpack and handed it to Lyra. Lyra fumbled to get her own out of her skirt pocket and complete the swap. She had a bit of trouble working through all the menus and interfaces. Lily actually finished with hers and guided Lyra through it, as they did, she took notice of Loan's number in the contacts between a bunch of other names, probably friends. Lyra realized she should've gotten her cousin's number before they separated. But Lily was nice enough to help her do it then. Lyra would try and message the girl later.

By then, they were nearly there. Lily became antsy at the knees, and Lyra watched her get her camera out again and start snapping pictures of the street signs. And when Lyra pointed out the apartment after they stepped off the bus, she snapped half a dozen pictures of it too. She wanted to remember this place. Be able to find it again. Before they went in though, Lyra stopped her aunt right there on the street.

"Listen, we don't want to intrude on a personal conversation." She explained. "But… I knew you were angry back there." She didn't look angry now, but that didn't erase the past. "I just want you to know he's a good person. So please, don't get angry with him."

"I'm not!" Lily insisted. "I just want to see him again." She grabbed Lyra's arm. "Please, show me which apartment he's in."

"Okay." Lyra nodded. Things had turned out this way. And even though it nagged her whether or not she was in the right fell to the wayside. It was happening. She didn't want any harm to come to her uncle. Would he be happy for this opportunity? Or not? Lyra didn't know. But it was too late now. She grabbed Lemy's hand and kept him close to her. "Follow me." She motioned to her aunt.

In the Apartment

Upstairs, Lincoln was completely unaware. After the phone calls earlier that day, he was in a really good mood. He was working like always, but his attitude was really upbeat. Maybe he was imagining it, but it felt like drawing was fun again, instead of just a means to an end he happened to be good at.

The front door opened behind him, and he glanced back to see Lyra poke her head in. "Hey…" He said, confused by the unusual behavior. "You guys are back already?"

"Yeah." Lyra answered. She was still only poking her head through the door. Lincoln got a feeling something was wrong and spun his chair around to stand up. "You're alone right now?" She asked.

"Well, yeah." That was a weird question. "Lyra, is everything alright?" He asked. She slipped through the crack in the door and stood in front of it. She looked guilty, unsure, and reluctant. He could tell she needed an effort just to look at him, and his mind darted back to that morning. "Listen, I can understand if you're a little upset about yesterday-"

"While we were out, we came across someone." She interrupted him. "Sorry. We met someone at that arcade who knows you. And they wanted to see you. So…I brought them here." She admitted, like a child admitting to doing wrong rather than the relatively mature teen he knew her as.

"…Who?" Lincoln asked, wracking his brains. Someone who knew him? But he didn't have to think about it long. Lyra stepped to the side and the door, already cracked, got pushed open and someone stumbled in.

"Lincoln?!" They stood up. It was a girl. Or maybe a young woman, since she was slightly taller than Lyra, dressed in a striped blouse and light blue skirt with a backpack on. As Lincoln's eyes trailed up, he registered the blond hair for just a second before all his focus locked on her face. He looked at her youthful face, eyes wide and mouth hanging open, and something clicked in his mind. It reminded him of something. It looked familiar.

"Lincoln." She started stepping towards him. He didn't immediately recognize her, but she seemed to recognize him. He took a step back. "Lincoln, it's me, Lily!" She exclaimed.

"Lily?" That rooted him to the floor, giving her free reign to approach. This was his baby sister? The last time he'd seen her was when he carried her to bed and tucked her in right before he went to talk to Lucy and the truth came out. This was that same girl?

His arms got pinned to his side when the shorter woman came in and hugged him, but he quickly got them free just so he could return it. His baby sister…his baby sister was here!

"How did you get here?" He couldn't believe it. Then he remembered Lyra, and he looked up to see her still standing by the door. Just standing there, arms crossed. She moved her head to look down at the floor when she saw him staring.

He grabbed Lily's shoulders and tried to move her back. He wanted to see her face. But she wasn't letting go. She squeezed him tighter, like she expected him to vanish. He heard sniffing. She was tearing up, too overwhelmed with emotion to speak. And something about it made the own corner of his eyes grow watery.

"Where did you find her?" He asked, looking at Lyra again. She met his eyes again to answer.

"At the arcade. Like I already said." She may have intended for that to sound annoyed, but the effect was lost because of the volume. "I recognized the rabbit." She pointed, and Lincoln craned his neck to look around Lily's backpack to see something that surprised him even more. It was Bun-Bun.

"You still have Bun-Bun." He said in awe.

"It was the only thing I had left." Lily sniffed. "After you disappeared." Her grip on him eased, and she stepped back on her own. He got a better look at her tear-stained face then. Smooth. Youthful. She really had grown up into a beautiful woman. And he'd missed all of it.

His baby sister suddenly balled up her fist, and for a moment he thought she was about to punch him, and he stepped back. But after holding it in the air for a second, she lowered it. Lincoln took a tentative step forward, and she raised it again.

"I'm pissed off at you, Lincoln!" She warned, voice harsh, and he backed up a few more steps. She stood there, fist balled up, shaking a little. "I've thought about what I was going to say if this happened. For years." She clarified, and wiped her face with her sleeve. "You left!" She accused. "You left in the middle of the night, and you left us alone!" He flinched. "And now I found out you were here the whole time? That all my sisters who ran away too are still here? What the fuck?!" She stamped a foot on the floor. Just hearing her swear made Lincoln flinch. But of course, she could-she was an adult now.

Behind her, Lyra stood there awkwardly, trying not to look at either fighting adult.

"Lily…" There was so much he wanted to say. And obviously there was a lot she wanted to hear. "We need to talk about a lot." He grabbed the back of his work chair. "Sit down." She stalked and pulled it from his grasp before sitting down. Lincoln moved over to the couch and sat down.

"Why did you all leave?" She asked, her voice wavering.

"You look nice." Lincoln tried to avoid the question. He wanted to catch up first, obviously. And he hoped she would too.

"That's not what I asked." Lily warned, and he noticed her gripping Bun-Bun. Squeezing it tightly. Even though he'd handed the stuffed animal off, Lincoln grew nervous watching her. She wanted answers, and Lincoln was in no position to refuse her. "Don't act like this isn't a big deal. I want to know why you left, Lincoln. We can catch up after that, but I want an answer. Now." She punctuated.

He broke out in a cold sweat. This wasn't like Lori. Lori had known the truth. Even if he regretted it, he 'knew' Lori, and her grudging acceptance of the issue made it easier to talk about. But Lily knew nothing about the situation. And no matter what the young woman staring at him looked like, he could not mentally differentiate it in his mind from the 7-year-old he'd still carried on his shoulders for fun. Like Lana and Lola, she'd been a kind of mental anchor for him. Something to remind him of the normalcy he'd started to miss. He just couldn't imagine discussing it with her.

But she was going to be insistent. She could walk out that door again and that would be it. Lincoln would never see her again. But he didn't want that. He wanted to know how she was doing, now that she was grown up. But she wasn't going to tell him unless he gave her the truth.

And fear made his stomach start to churn when he realized something: she still lived with mom and dad. She would be seeing them after this interaction. There were so many terrible things that could happen if she did. His only hope was to convince her now not to say anything to them. But could he do that without the truth?

He just sat there, looking like an idiot with his mouth open trying to figure out something to say. Lily was glaring at him from his chair. And Lyra was still standing by the door, just watching. Lincoln had a mini-heart attack and ran over everything he'd just conversed with his baby sister in case any of it was incriminating. None of it was, but most of what he was probably going to have to say would be.

He had to tell Lily. It was the only way he could continue this interaction with his sister. He'd gotten back in touch with Lori, Lola, and Lana. Lisa was a special case, but there was a real chance for him to have all his sisters back in his life again. Right here, right now. All this good luck, it had to be karma. He'd tried to do good for years and now it was paying him back. He just had to stay true and honest and it would continue.

It had to.

"Listen, I'll tell you everything you want to know." He promised Lily, then turned to Lyra. "Lyra, I'm sorry. But-"

"Lemy and me will go somewhere else." She stated, already aware. Lincoln sighed in relief and watched her slip back out through the door and into the hallway. It shut behind her.

It was just Lincoln and Lily now, and the white-haired man felt cornered.

"Listen, Lily. There are a lot of things I want you to know. Please know this first: I didn't want to leave. None of us wanted to leave. Believe me when I say we all missed you, and your other sisters too. Looking at you all grown up now, I regret having to even more." She pressed her lips together, still waiting for him to get to the point.

"I loved all you guys. I loved being a big brother. I wouldn't have changed it for the world."

"Why did you all leave?" She demanded again, losing her patience. "You were right here. Even if you got into a fight with mom and dad, you didn't have to ignore us!" Her voice was getting heavy with emotion instead of anger. "You have no idea what it was like for us, to have half the family just disappear one day. Mom and dad had to work. Lucy had a baby. Lisa never left her lab. It was like we were alone."

"I only came back to Royal Woods a few years ago-" Lincoln tried to explain, but she wasn't having any of it.

"YOU WERE STILL HERE!" He sunk into the back of the couch. "And I didn't make Lyra tell me, but I know the others are here too, aren't they?!" She demanded. "All of you just disappeared on us, but you never really left. You could've come back to us at any time, but you didn't. You say you liked being with us so much, but that's bullshit! What was stopping you from visiting, huh?!"

"I was getting to that." A little bit of aggravation leaked into his voice. If she'd just let him explain, it wasn't his fault. He would've visited them if he could! He would. It was mom and dad's fault not his. "Lily, I know that you don't have a reason to trust me, but can promise me one thing? Just one thing, please?"

"What?"

"I'm going to tell you why we had to leave and why we couldn't go back anywhere near the house. It's going to make all of us sound really bad. But Lily, I just want you to remember that all of us were your older siblings. We loved you and we never wanted to hurt you, or anyone one else. Can you please just promise me you'll remember that after I tell you?"

He could see the consideration start to emerge in her face. She saw his fear, and his earnestness. But he could also see her confusion. They were all probably perfect in her eyes when she was 7, a perception she would've had no choice but to keep all this time. And he was about to shatter it.

"I promise, Lincoln." She nodded. He sighed and took a deep breath.

"Lyra and Lemy aren't just Luna's kids." He braced himself for what he said next. "They're mine too." Immediately, her expression changed. Her pupils widened slightly, and her mouth began to gape as he kept talking. Frustration and pain, becoming replaced with disbelief and even horror. "Liena, Liby, and Lacy too, they were all my kids too. You have to know what that means for all of us. It was a secret we kept. Even to them today" He paused to take another deep breath.

"Lucy and me were the same. And that night I left, mom and dad found out, and they were angry. We were all scared, Lily. Scared we were going to lose them. We didn't want to leave, believe me. But we thought it was the only way to keep our kids safe."

As he finished, his little sister was shaking like a leaf, a hand clamped over her mouth, eyes darting around the room and looking at everything but him as reality asserted itself in her mind. She'd gotten the truth she searched for. It sounded a lot simpler than it really was, but it all made sense. All the pieces fell into place.

Lincoln gave her time to digest it. It was all he could do. He'd already made his case. She'd either forgive them, or she wouldn't. Their brother-sister relationship would either rekindle, or it would die out for good.

But a response from her never came. The front door flew open hard enough to hit the wall behind it. The sudden noise in what had been a quiet and tense moment made Lincoln jump and Lily scream a little. Fight or flight kicked in and Lincoln jumped up, but he stopped when he realized just what had thrown open his door.

His daughter.


	22. Chapter 22

She'd sinned. She'd said she was going to let them talk alone, but she'd lied. She knew her uncle was going to tell her aunt what had happened-what the truth was. Lyra desired to know that truth too, and she realized that it was possible to hear inside the apartment from the door. The temptation to eavesdrop was strong. Temptation led to sin. But she couldn't help it.

She wanted to know. Some strange event with repercussions a decade down the line. A dozen lives affected, her's included. Resentment for what could've been. A small bit of selfishness; she'd been affected by it too, so shouldn't she be entitled to the truth too?

So she'd stood there, with ear pressed to the door, Lemy watching her questioningly. She was sure it'd be something sinful. Maybe even illegal. But she was willing to forgive, even for something as impactful as this. No one was perfect. She wasn't, as her actions clearly proved. She just wanted to know.

And then he said it. Those words. And then he elaborated on them. A truth unlike anything she could've expected. Something so absolutely absurd that her initial reaction was only confusion. But then she realized…

 _It made sense_.

She didn't even realize she'd shoved the door open. No one was more surprised than her to realize she was standing in the threshold of the apartment. Her whole body was trembling. Her chest suddenly felt like it was wrapped in chains, making her breathing ragged. Her whole core was cold, making it feel like she was standing in a freezer even though she could already feel sweat forming on her forehead.

Lincoln had jumped to his feet, and Lily had twisted around her chair to stare. Her uncle (uncle?) was the more surprised of the two, but horror was spreading over his face just as quickly.

Lyra opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't. Her whole mouth had gone dry. She swallowed and tried again. "Is it true?" Her voice quavered. But what if she'd just misheard? She clumsily corrected herself. "What did you say? What did you say?" It was a plea more than it was a request or a demand.

Lemy was still outside, leaning through the open doorway. He hadn't heard anything and was very much confused.

Lincoln just stood there, shock and fear all over his face. Then his expression changed, the fear easing off his face. He took a small step towards her.

"What did you hear?" He asked. He wasn't denying it. But he wasn't acting like he knew either. There was still a chance she'd just misheard. A mistake. It could all still be a mistake. An embarrassing mistake, but just a harmless mistake.

"I heard…" She swallowed again. "I heard you…say something…about me and Lemy. What did you say? Say it again. Right now." Having heard his name again, Lemy came back into the apartment and stood next to her expectantly. But Lyra was experiencing such an extreme case of tunnel vision she didn't notice until she saw Lincoln looking at him. She was about to freak out and send him away, but then Lincoln started speaking.

"It's true." Lyra froze, not believing what she was hearing. "Me and Luna wanted to tell you this together, but I guess that doesn't matter now." He sighed and approached them. Lyra was rooted to the spot by shock and her mind shutting down.

Lemy still had no idea what was going on, but he saw Lyra looking scared and was immediately on edge, stepping in front of her as Lincoln approached. The white-haired man they'd both grown to kind of like put a hand on Lyra's shoulder and then kneeled slightly so he could put the other hand on Lemy's shoulder.

"You two are my kids." He revealed. "I'm your dad."

With a startled gasp, Lyra grabbed Lemy and stepped back, backing up until her back made painful contact with the door frame. Her mind had started working again. But she was still panicked and overwhelmed. So many new facts given to her by a single sentence. Ideas she'd never considered or had stopped thinking about ages ago. She didn't know where to begin. It was overwhelming and terrifying.

The door was still open. Her and Lemy could run right out of the apartment and away from here. But one thing kept her there.

"I know that sounds bad. You're freaked out. But please, just let me explain." Lincoln didn't approach them again. He kept his distance, hands raised non-threateningly. Lily was standing up from her seat too, but Lyra wasn't focused on her. "Please."

A million questions and thoughts running through her mind, Lyra latched on to one. "The others." She gasped out. "The others too?"

"Yes." He nodded. "Liena, Liby, Lacy, and Lupa. They don't know, but they're your sisters."

Sisters… She had sisters? Lemy had other sisters?

"So you and our mom and our aunts, you…" Before Lyra could even say it, she felt her stomach twist and bile rise in her throat. She audibly gagged. Incest. That was incest. The worst of physical depravity anyone could imagine. An abomination against God, all his creatures, and the world he'd created. Her mom, her aunts, her uncle-no, _father_ -all of them had done it.

And she and Lemy were products of it.

Somehow, she didn't even question the possibility he could've been lying. She was ready to believe it instantly, that her mother, who'd always had some redeeming qualities to her, had done such a horrible thing. That this man and most of her aunts, all people she'd thought were good people, were these vile sinners.

Worse than that. They were criminals.

They needed to leave. Now.

Lyra didn't pay attention to see if he answered. She pushed Lemy in front of her down the hall to the bedroom. "Grab your things. Quickly." She whispered. "We're leaving." Her brother had a lot of questions, but he also wanted to get away from a situation that he didn't understand and was above him. But he did ask one thing.

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe. Here isn't." She had no idea where. But she'd figure that out later. They just needed to get away right now.

"I thought we didn't have a dad?"

"Lemy, _please_!" He didn't ask any more questions and hurriedly stuffed his things in his duffel bag. Lyra grabbed her own bag and slung the strap over her shoulder.

"Lyra-" Her father appeared in the doorway.

"Stay away from us!" She pointed threateningly, and he recoiled in shock. He looked hurt, but not an ounce of sympathy entered her mind. This man was a liar. He was a pervert. She wanted nothing to do with him. "I'll call the police if I have to." Her voice quivered, and she doubted the words that had just come out of her mouth. But why?

"You have everything?" She asked Lemy. He nodded. Lyra patted down her pockets, feeling her phone and wallet. All their worldly possessions. "Come on." She grabbed her little brother's hand and pulled him from the room. She didn't make eye-contact with her dad, and he stayed flat against the wall as they passed.

But Lily was blocking the hallway. "Lyra." She tried to reason with her niece.

"Move out of the way." Lyra wasn't going to let her stop her either. She didn't even know what she wanted. Maybe she actually sided with her brother in all this. Lyra didn't know or care. Right now, all she cared about was getting herself and her brother away from here.

"Lyra, you need to think about-"

"I already thought about it. Now move." Lyra had never been a violent person, but she tried to shoulder her way past.

" _Lyra_!" Lily grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against the wall. Lyra froze, stunned by the sudden assault. Her bag fell from her slackened fingers onto the floor.

"Get off of her!" Lemy tried to shoulder ram his aunt, and although she definitely felt it, she didn't let go.

"Lyra, think about it!" Her aunt implored her. "Your mom had you when was 16. Lincoln's always been 4 years younger than her. Think about it!" Her message said, she let go and stepped back. "He did nothing wrong."

The assault had stopped her runaway thoughts and momentarily cleared her mind, allowing it to start anew on what her aunt had told her. 16. Her mother had her at 16. She'd never denied that. Her uncle really was younger than her mother. She had Lyra at 16. Her uncle would've had to be 12. That wasn't a sinful relationship, it was worse. It was abuse. It was coercion.

It was rape. _She_ was a product of rape. Both her and Lemy. Her father was a victim of rape. Her mom was a rapist.

"Don't blame him." Her aunt implored as Lyra started to slide down the wall before slumping on the floor. "It's not his fault."

"Mom… It was all my mom's." Lyra whispered, starting to shake. That was even worse. Greater than all of her worst fears.

"That's right." Lily nodded encouragingly.

"No, it's not like that." Lincoln interjected, drawing all three youths' eyes to him. "It was more like…well…it's hard to explain." He said. "But it wasn't like _that_." Even if neither teenage girl had said it, Lincoln knew what conclusion they were drawing. "It was nothing bad, or evil, or anything like it. Not with you guys or the others."

"No, it's fine, we under-"

"It wasn't like that!" Lincoln snapped angrily. Lily went quiet. "Nobody was hurting anybody." He calmed down. "Nobody was…doing…anything wrong." He sighed and spun around, rubbing his temple furiously.

But Lyra couldn't believe that. That was wrong. It was heinous. It didn't even sound possible.

But then why did he insist otherwise? Lyra wasn't satisfied. She suddenly felt guilty. She felt like she'd jumped to conclusions. She thought she had the truth, but she was wrong. She still had no idea what had really happened.

She had to find out the full truth. It wasn't just a matter of finding out now, this was about whether or not they were safe. Whether they could even stay in this family.

"Lemy." She stood up. "Go stay in the bedroom for a little while."

"Aren't we leaving?" He asked.

"I don't know yet." She grabbed him under his arms and lifted him up to carry him. "I need to find out something. You need to stay away."

"She hurt you." She could see the anger in his eyes when she set him down and turned him around.

"No, she helped me realize something. Listen to me, Lemy. Please." She kneeled down in front of him. "I need to do something that's really important, but I need to do it alone. I know you're probably confused and scared-"

"I'm not scared." He cut in. "You're scared."

"Yes, I am." She admitted. "But I'm being brave and facing it. You're scared for me, aren't you?" His face confirmed it. She smiled and hugged him. "I'll be fine." He put his arms around her and squeezed tightly. Everything was going crazy in both their worlds right now, but they each had one solid anchor, and they were holding it right now. "I'll be back." The hug broke, and Lyra stood up to go back out and find the truth.

Lyra wasn't the only one exhausted by what was happening. Lincoln and Lily had gone back to the living room to rest their legs in the chair and on the couch respectively. The front door had been closed. Lyra lowered herself to the cushion next to her aunt, who was looking at the framed picture of Lyra's mom and all her siblings.

Her parents and their siblings.

She reached over to take it, and her aunt let her have it. Her mother at 15. Her…father…at 11. What had been going on behind this photo? What was behind all those smiles? A mental image ran through her mind, and Lyra's stomach lurched again. She laid the picture face down before she ended up vomiting.

"Whatever you want to know, I'll tell you." Her dad swore. "I was already ready to. Luna and me both are, whenever you see her." Lyra had looked forward to getting answers from her mother. But if this was really the truth? Lyra wasn't sure if she ever wanted to see the woman again.

What to say here? What could she ask that could possibly scratch the surface of this? She didn't know, so she ended up making one last plea for a mistake. Denial.

"How are you sure we're-we're yours?" Just saying that made Lyra feel sick. "Our mom is a whore. Lemy looks nothing like you."

"No she's not." Lincoln shook his head. "She's only ever been with two people her whole life: me and Sam."

"And you know that for sure?"

"I believed her when she said it." There was no doubt in his voice, and that shut Lyra right up.

But she wasn't the only interrogator in the conversation.

"When did it start?" Lily asked. "How?"

"About the time I was almost 12, I guess." He shrugged. "There wasn't really a defining moment where it started."

"You don't remember falling in love with your own sisters? Lincoln," Lily leaned forward and grabbed his hands. "If something happened, it's okay."

"Nothing happened." And suddenly his tone changed just like before. Annoyed. Irritated. "Believe me, I've thought about it more than you can imagine. Nothing like what you girls are thinking." Lily was taken aback again. "Those 'things' all of us did, we did because we agreed. Every time." Were those words genuine? She'd been lied to before, who was to say she wasn't still being lied to?

"But… _why_?" Was all Lyra's aunt could respond with. Lincoln sighed.

"Because we were young and stupid." He admitted with humility. "It was never about romance. Leni had a boyfriend. Luna had a girlfriend. I had a sorta-girlfriend." Was he talking about Loan's aunt? "We didn't see it like that." At that moment, he bowed his head. His face was going redder. What he was about to say was really embarrassing. "We thought-" He looked back up and started moving his hands. "We were all really close. As siblings. And for whatever reason," he sighed, "we thought that was a good way to express it."

Lily leaned back in her seat in obvious repulsion.

"It was dumb and stupid and we realize that now." He put his hands down.

"That's absolutely absurd." Lyra was disgusted enough to find her voice. "That's an act with only one purpose." She was even more livid now. For someone to lay with their sibling was obscene, but to do it out of such a horrid misinterpretation of familial bonds!

Her own _mother_ had believed these things. Lyra suddenly had a sickening thought: _What had either of them assumed about herself and Lemy?_ She shuddered.

"Like I said, we know it's wrong now. We've been trying to fix it ever since."

"Fix it?!" Lyra shouted. "You sired children!" She had to rack her brains for a moment. "Six children! Us!" Lyra had long since stopped giving much thought how she came into this world, but suddenly she felt the weight of her existence in a new way.

"I know it has to be weird to think about." Her father tried to sympathize. "But there's nothing wrong with you. You're a normal kid, a great-

"No, I _know_ I am." Lyra retorted automatically. "Children aren't punished for the sins of the parents. Lemy, me, and all our…siblings…will be fine. You all are going to be the ones that'll burn." She stood up. "This was a waste of time." She'd sat through this looking for answers. For some hope maybe at least one person in this horrid business was innocent or deserved pity. But no, no one did. They were terrible people, and she wasn't going to spend another minute in any of the presence.

"Wait, hold on!" He begged her and, for some reason still she couldn't figure out, she did. But she didn't turn around to look at him. "Everything me and Luna have done since then has been for you guys. Everything the others have done since then has been for their kids. Instead of just being disgusted, think about it from our perspective."

Lyra was still for a moment then silently turned her head to look at her uncle/father. There was pleading in his eyes. Hopefulness. She remembered this man had wanted to see her and Lemy. Wanted to be a father figure to the others. Something he'd done at cost to himself.

"I've never read a bible before." He admitted. "But I know it says something about forgiveness, and redemption. We've been trying to make things right ever since. It's been hard. REALLY hard. Luna and me were going to talk to you, because we hoped you'd see all the good we tried to do and forgive us."

Lyra's mind was still overwhelmed, and him asking her to think further wasn't helping matters. For all her faults, her mother had done a lot of good. She had her redeeming qualities. At the very least, she could've been a far worse woman. Her uncle had clearly gone out of his way to be a good person. She remembered-he'd asked their mom to see them.

Years after he'd already been seeing his other kids.

"You waited a long time to see us." She said quietly.

"Yeah…" He admitted sadly. "I wanted to see you guys for years, but Luna was reluctant." She was? Why? Was there a reason their mother had done that? A well-intentioned reason? A selfish reason?

"Lyra?" Lincoln got her attention again. He'd stood up, approaching her cautiously. "Can you forgive all that, please? I'll call your mom. She'll come here early. We can all talk. There's still a lot of things you need to understand. This all seems bad, but we can get over it." He was getting closer, and suddenly Lyra's chest grew tight. She jumped up from the couch and stepped away. Her dad froze.

Her mom and dad-her parents-had done good deeds. They'd been decent people…eventually. They had good intentions.

But they'd still done something horrible. Something illegal. Something that offended God. They'd torn apart a loving family with their perversion. Lyra's aunt, sitting beside her, had suffered in her own way. Lyra and Lemy had been forced to live their lives a certain way. Liena, Liby, Lacy, and Lupa too. All of them may have been trying to do good, but that wasn't selfless; it was only trying to fix a problem they'd caused with their own selfishness.

Most of all, they'd _lied_ to her. Her mom all her life, and her dad the entire time she'd known him.

God could forgive any sin. Families had forgiven people who murdered their love ones. Forgiveness was the strongest thing any person could do.

But Lyra wasn't that strong.

Her whole life, she'd resented the situation she'd been in. She could appreciate the good, but she'd never stopped noticing the bad. But she'd endured it, for the sake of the good moments, for the sake of her faith, for the sake of her mother and brother she really did love. Because she thought it was the mature and selfless route. Because she didn't think it was completely anyone's fault.

But that wasn't the case. She knew that now. It all went back to her mother and the man standing here in front of her.

Maybe she was being overdramatic. Maybe her decision was overblown. Her life hadn't been too horrible. But her feelings were what they were.

She couldn't forgive him. Or her mother. Maybe in the future, but not now. And if she couldn't forgive them, she didn't want to see them. She needed time to sort her thoughts.

"Not right now." His face fell. "I'm sorry, uncle-… I'm sorry, Lincoln. I need time to think."

"Of course…" He nodded. She started backpedaling towards the hallway. "Lyra!" She stopped. "I love you guys… I've wanted to say that for so long." She gave the slightest nod of her head, turned around, and hurried back to the room.

The white-haired man sighed. Everything had unraveled. It was his worst fear. But it wasn't the ends of things either. He was remembering Lori's advice. Lyra wanted space, he was giving her space. She was shocked. He could understand that. Lori had been shocked when she found out. Mom and dad had been shocked. It was a natural reaction.

But he was tired. So tired. He nearly broke his chair when he let himself fall back into it. Lily was still sitting on the couch, regarding him with eyes wide, lips sucked inward, and her hands tightly clasped in her lap.

"You don't have to forgive me either." He said. "You can think we're all terrible people." She seemed startled at being addressed. More footsteps, Lyra and Lemy appeared out of the hallway.

They had their bags again.

"Guys?" Lincoln sat up.

"We're going out for a bit." Lyra declared. "To think."

"Will you be back by tonight?" Lincoln asked.

"Maybe."

"Okay…" He nodded. "Okay. Stay safe." Lyra nodded stiffly, and they were out the door.

"You're letting them go?" Lily asked, standing up.

"They'll be fine." Lincoln was sure. "When any of us were 15, we roamed around on our own. I think she'll be back."

"They took their bags!"

"I think they'll be back." He said confidently. "Lily. Lily!" He stopped her from staring worryingly at the door. "What about you? Can you forgive any of us?"

"I don't know!" She sounded frazzled. "This is a _lot_ to take in, Lincoln. I waited for this moment. For _years_." Lily's voice cracked. "And this is what I found… I came here missing you. I really thought there for a second you were just screwed over. Now? I don't know if I should be afraid of you or not." She admitted, pacing around.

"I was never going to hurt you, Lily. I swear it." He got defensive and insistent. "Those times you can remember. Those last years in the house. I already knew it was wrong by then. I was trying to be a good brother. A real one."

"Just…tell me it's all over." Lily asked, now the one pleading. "You're all normal, right?" Lincoln opened his mouth, then closed it without saying anything. "Right?" Lily pleaded again.

"Luna and me really haven't seen each other at all in the last decade." That was a deflection and Lily knew it.

"I need time to think too." She said quickly, grabbing her backpack. "I'll go catch up with Lyra and Lemy and offer to take them to mom and dad."

"You can't do that." Lincoln said immediately, standing up.

"I can and I will!" She shot back. "They need a place to think. If you want to see them, come by. I realize now mom and dad deserve apologies too."

"Lil-" Before he could stop her, she pulled up her camera and snapped a picture, blinding him momentarily with a flash. He heard the door slam as the world became coherent again. His little sister was gone, and now his kids too.

Elsewhere

The worst part of the music business was the upper management. Your managers, your accountants, your record labels. Cause to the lot of them, it was about the profit. For Luna and Sam, it was about the message, the comradery, and the energy. And it could've been a constant conflict.

But Luna and Sam thought the one they had now was reasonable. Didn't ride them too heard, didn't try and sign them into sponsorship deals or shite like that, didn't ask them to act out some fake drama or scandal to get the tabloids and online tossers riled up.

The only thing they really pushed them to do was not be recluses. Get out there and be seen in public. Remind people you exist. Act like normal human beings. Weird request, but that was just marketing, they guessed.

Luna knew her kids probably thought she partied every night, with opposing views on it. The reality was, she partied once, maybe twice a week. Most nights she wasn't playing or actually partying was just rehearsal. Business…mixed with a little bit of pleasure into the early hours. Hey, being a band wasn't strictly a business relationship, you know? And it was still work. Work that dragged on well into the morning, but work.

The actual partying though depended on the season. If they were getting high profile gigs at major venues, then it was spending time at one of those high-end celebrity clubs or bars where the REAL tossers hung out. If they erred on the simpler gigs that had that more indie vibe to them, the party was at the actual spot they'd rented out. Those were the wild parties, less regulated and more chaotic. Mosh pits like they'd gotten into when they were teens. Again, only once a week usually.

And would you believe it if it turned out you could actually get tired of partying? It'd been fun for the first few years. The high-end places had convinced Luna and Sam they'd made it, and the low-end places reminded them of happier times as much wilder teens.

But Luna and Sam had never really been high class girls. And as more time passed, they felt less at home in the grungier festivities. They were in their 30s, kind of old for that crowd of people. Each tier had its repulsive twats too, although tellingly they'd gotten flashed by some twat or another in both settings. The more and more the two exes had reconnected, the more they resented the free time they had being taken up by career mandated publicity.

And believe it or not, neither were particularly fond of drinking. Luna wasn't sure if it was in the genes or not, but she really couldn't hold her alcohol. And with the way each place mixed their drinks differently, it was a game of Russian roulette whether she'd get unwound or end up regretting it intensely the next morning. Sam's hatred was more recently founded. Her brief spell in rehab at the start of the year had been because she realized she definitely enjoyed herself too much; the blond had a thing for natural wines, nature's gift.

Luna had a further personal reason: Lyra. The girl disapproved. She didn't try and stop her anymore, but she still disapproved. And she remembered every time Luna enjoyed herself more than she should've. Every time. And on the chance she got upset, she could really over-exaggerate the tendency. Luna could've gotten mad at her; she knew she wasn't a saint dammit, but she wasn't that bad. But that was hard when Luna was convinced their opinions weren't far off.

They had money in the bank. They could always retire. Or maybe switch to being indie. They'd been indie when Luna joined in, but that was the crappy kind of indie. Being rich and using that to publish your own stuff was the good kind of indie. Luna had had the thought in her mind for the last year or so, and Sam had brought it up seriously not long after she got back.

Neither could really push themselves or the other to make the hard choice yet. Maybe one day soon. Until then. Rehearsals most nights, a show every week, and a party or two for publicity. They still had their fun here and there.

Tonight, they were in Tulsa. Last stop before they headed up to Michigan and started touring the North East. The show wasn't for another few days. Tonight, they were going to hit the town. Let the local paparazzi and the ones that followed get a few shots of them, get some more free advertising.

"Yeah, we'll be out in a minute." Sam told the chauffeur over the phone before setting it down. "He's waiting."

"He's getting money for nothing." Luna wasn't concerned. Both women were at the bathroom sink getting ready. Rocker style was simple, but you still had to put in some effort. A little make up on the eyes, some paint for the finger nails, and of course hair.

Luna was nearly done with her nails when she got distracted by a pair of hands resting on her hips. Smirking to herself, the brunette started swaying back and forth, much to the pleasure of her girlfriend holding. "Wait till we're out on the dancefloor, luv." Luna insisted. Sam giggled; some sparks never did die.

And you never realized how important something was till you almost lost it. Luna wasn't religious and she was sure it didn't work like that, but she was thankful to something greater than herself that her and Sam could still be together after all these years.

It hadn't been easy at first. It'd been tense as hell. Sam had lashed out at her former girlfriend a lot of well-deserved times. The day Lemy had been born and all of Luna's bandmates were there to congratulate her, Sam had looked at her with nothing but pure contempt. It'd taken her a long time to finally be convinced Luna was truly sorry, and even apologize for being so cruel to her over it.

It was hard to rekindle an old and broken love, even more so when Luna had two reminders glued to her sides every day. But they still had that shared passion. Even as twenty-somethings, they'd both still been dorks. Deep down, Sam had wanted things to mend as much as Luna. And their only crutch at first had been nostalgia.

But they'd pulled through. Luna absolutely wasn't redeemed. She never would be, she knew. But she was forgiven. What Luna had done was over. It couldn't be changed. She was sorry and she'd put as much distance between it and her as possible.

It'd been hard at first. Tempers had still flared. The relationship was behind closed doors and on and off frequently, a trend that had really been the norm till last year. Sometimes it was unresolved bitterness, other times is was the stress of trying to manage a relationship, motherhood, AND a career. But it was never permanently off.

They'd started going out more. They were more open in front of other people. Their friends, the same ones who'd come from Royal Woods with Sam and who'd gone on to do their own thing while applauding Sam and Luna for becoming a famous duo, had been happy for the two. The tabloids and fans picked up on it and it actually boosted their careers. They'd kissed again on Luna's birthday 3 years after she'd rejoined the band. Best one she'd had in years.

Sam had even warmed up to Luna's kids. Not as successfully with Lyra as the girl started to drift from even her own mother, but still amicable. Sam had never hated them, but she hadn't exactly been friendly either. But now, Lemy really liked her and to Luna's knowledge her and Lyra had never had a conflict. Sam's role had never been and never would be defined. 'Aunt', 'other mom' or stuff like that. It would cover a taboo subject to the adults. But she was there for the girl and her little brother.

Things seemed to be only getting better since Sam checked out of rehab. She was more affectionate. They both were, out of deprivation. And Sam and Luna had had that serious discussion she mentioned earlier. Again, they were getting older. Better to go out peacefully than burn out. And even if that day wasn't on them yet, what were they going to do when that time came? It was a tolerant America out there. They could do anything they wanted together. They weren't sure what yet, when, or who'd it involve, but they knew it could be whatever they wanted.

The future was uncertain, but the future for those two was going to be great no matter what, Luna could tell.

She'd already reached an agreement with Lincoln. He could still see Lyra and Lemy. It'd taken her time to realize it, but he was at least owed that in spite of everything. But what him and her had 10 years ago? Done and over, never to be repeated. He realized that too. Maybe he'd move on, or he wouldn't; she wasn't sure what his deal with Lynn and Lucy was. But Luna had moved on. She had her future, and it has hugging her from behind right now.

Ah, what the hell? You only lived once. Luna spun around and pulled her surprised girlfriend in to kiss her. A deep kiss that had them soon pressed into the other.

And while they were locked in their embrace, Luna's girlfriend lifted her up onto the sink, shifting her hands to her waist.

"Ooh." Luna meeped into Sam's mouth. The movement had shifted her skirt and her thighs and her thinly covered ass made contact with the cold but stylish granite. But Sam's hands running up her legs relieved at least the first part of that.

They were both considering the pros and cons of things getting heated and them having to get ready all over again when Luna's phone broke them out of their embrace. "Ah, bollocks." Luna muttered, reaching over for her bag and pulling her phone from it. She shivered as Sam kept running her hands over Luna's thighs. She stopped when she saw Luna's brow furrow.

"Who is it?"

"My bro again." Luna answered. He'd already called again this morning. What else did he want? Sam's lips betrayed the slightest sense of annoyance, but she nodded and left, closing the bathroom door behind her. She knew Luna liked to take these calls alone.

"'Ello?"

"Luna." He sounded tired. "Luna…things just went really wrong."

"Wrong? What went wrong? Things were cheery this morning, weren't they?"

"Lyra and Lemy were out in Royal Woods, and they ran into Lily." Lincoln got right to the point. "They brought her back to my apartment and she started demanding answers. I had to tell her. They were listening in." He dropped it all on her at once. Luna was lucky she was sitting on the sink. She might've gotten dizzy and fallen over otherwise. "I had to tell them too."

"Wait, so they _both_ know?" Luna asked, forgetting about Lily for a moment.

"They both know I'm that bad. I had to explain to Lyra and Lily what happened when we were kids. Lemy doesn't know." He explained. Luna slid down from the sink and paced around, a luxury available by its size relative to the price tag. This was not rad at all. Yeah, Luna had decided her daughter was old enough to know the truth, but she'd been the one who wanted to tell her damnit! It was going to be her apology just as much as Lincoln's. And Lemy shouldn't have heard anything about this at all! Her good mood was getting foul really fast.

"And how did they take it?" Luna asked. Her brother said nothing. "Lincoln!" She shouted into the phone.

"Lily was reall-"

"My daughter, Lincoln!" Luna interrupted him. Was she interested in hearing about her youngest sister? Yes, but not now.

"She was upset, alright!" He finally told her. "She was really overwhelmed by it all and she wanted time to think."

"Put her on the phone." Luna demanded. She wanted to do this in person, but it was better than nothing. Lyra needed to hear her side of the story.

"She's not here." Lincoln responded, and Luna's heart lurched. "She said she needed space to think, so her and Lemy went out."

"Out where?"

"I don't know."

"What the hell do you mean you don't know?!" Luna shouted into the phone. "Lyra doesn't just 'go out' Lincoln. How the hell are you going to let your daughter go out without knowing where she is?"

"I'm sure she's fine." Lincoln insisted, but there was that slight tremor in his voice. He was lying.

"Where did they go?" Luna asked, voice eerily calm

"Nowhere dange-"

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE MY KIDS, LINCOLN?!" She screamed.

"Lily said she's taking them to mom and dad's house! I'm going to go get them. They're mine too!" Luna went pale with fear for a moment before rage consumed her.

"Like hell they are! I'm coming up there to get them! You're never seeing them again, Lincoln!" And before he could contest that, Luna ended the call. She immediately tried to dial her daughter's phone. The call was denied in seconds. She tried again with the result. Her daughter didn't respond. Luna was too shocked to even speak. She staggered out of the bathroom, enraged.

"Luna, what the hell is going on?" Sam asked, concerned. She had to have overheard those outbursts.

"I got to get back to Royal Woods now." Luna slammed her bag on a table and flipped through those numbers cards hotels left about all the local businesses you might need, looking for a car rental place. Her phone rang again, Lincoln's number was on the caller id. Without a second thought, Luna smashed it with her hand, breaking the screen. "My brother lost my kids. I have to go pick them up." And after that, they were staying on the road with her for good. Fuck him. She gave him a chance and he blew it.

"What happened?" Sam was only more confused. "Are they okay?"

"They better be, or I'm going to prison. Arrgh, bloody useless!" The card didn't have a number she wanted. She'd go ask at the front desk. She stormed out the room.

"I'll go with you!" Sam jogged out behind her. Luna stopped on the walkway and turned around.

"I love you, babe, but I gotta handle this alone."

"No way!" Her girlfriend refused. "Luna, you can't expect me to see you freak out like that and not worry. Besides, now I'm worried about your kids too. I'm going with you!" She was surprised when Luna suddenly changed moods and pulled her into a hug.

"Sammy baby, you're too good for me. Come on, before our manager finds out." He and the rest of the band were going to be pissed when they missed the next show.

But bollocks to them. There were more important things out there.

Royal Woods

Lemy had only a foggy idea of what was happening right now, owing to him having been sent away while it was going on. But he'd been there to hear his uncle say he was Lyra and his father. But wasn't he their uncle? Lemy had been hostile to the notion of a father, but he couldn't summon up that anger right now.

Right now, he was just really, really confused. Why wasn't it safe? What had mom done? Why was Lyra and their aunt so upset? Why did they still leave after Lyra calmed down? There was just so much confusing stuff happening, it overwhelmed his 9-year-old brain to the point he couldn't do more than be confused and scared.

Not scared, scared. Obviously. But Lyra was upset, and that really unnerved him. Lyra _never_ got upset. Angry, sure, but not upset. She was always calm, just like mom was always fun. And to see that nearly constant factor of his life turned upside down was getting to him more than he'd ever admit.

But Lyra was still with him.

He didn't know what was going on. He didn't know why they left. He didn't know why Lyra had been upset. He didn't know where they were going.

But Lyra was still with him. She was in charge. She was still leading him. And that meant things were still okay. He'd ask her the multitude of questions he had when they stopped, but right now he was letting her do her thing.

Right now, they were just walking down the street, getting odd looks from people because of the bags they were carrying. Lyra was holding tightly onto his hand, and using her other hand to mess around on her phone.

"Lyra!" They stopped and glanced behind them. Lily was running down the street at them, waving. Lyra turned back around and started walking faster, pulling Lemy's arm even. "Guys!" Her voice got closer, but they stilled ignored it. "Hey." She sounded out of breath as she grabbed Lyra's shoulder, and the teen shrugged her off.

"Leave us alone, please." She huffed.

"But where are you guys going?" Their aunt asked.

"I don't know!" Lyra snapped. "But anywhere's better than here."

"Yeah, piss off!" Lemy added. Lyra didn't even freak out on him.

"Guys, listen!" Lily pleaded, grabbing Lyra's shirt to try and stop her. Lemy immediately turned and started kicking at her shins. Just like his earlier shoulder ram, she ignored him. "Let me call my parents! Your grandparents! I'm sure they'll take you in!"

"Lemy, stop." Lyra put a hand on his chest. "Are you sure?" She asked Lily.

"Positive!" The blond insisted. "Just let me call them." She fished out her phone.

"What about…him?" Lyra didn't even say his name, glancing down the street like she expected him to be there.

"He's upset." She hesitated. "But I don't think he's going to chase after us." She glanced behind like she was making sure herself. "So what do say?" Lily asked. Lyra looked deep in thought for a few moments. Lemy looked up at her expectantly.

"Okay." Lyra decided. "We'll come see them." Lemy just went along with it.


End file.
